Demon Duelist Legacy Shadow Tournament Arc
by Wolf General
Summary: What was once a tournament entered for fun turns into a miniature war as a pair of 5,000 year old entities do battle.
1. Beginnings

Background: This story takes place in the world of Yugioh. The time is after the Battle City arc. While the main characters of Yugioh will be in the tournament, the spot-light is not going to be on them for awhile.

Disclaimer- No I do not own Yugioh. The only things in this story I own are the cards listed at the bottom.

Demon Duelist Legacy Chapter 1- Daniel vs. Robert

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the PQ (Pro qualifier) tournament begin!" All around the announcer the crowd broke into rounds of applause and cheers. Down below the stands for the audience was another set of stands that was closer to the ring.

Milling around in those seats were all of the duelists that were in the tournament. The ring itself was right below that area and was a rather non-descript metal platform with holographic projectors set up to support the widely used Kaiba corporation Duel Disk system.

"As all of you know the top four players of this tournament will be given invitations to the Shadow corporation cup that will be held in three weeks." Another round of cheers came up as the name of the famous newly founded world tournament was mentioned.

It had been announced by the chairmen of the famous and well known military hardware company that to show their support of Duel Monsters and the strategies it teaches everyday people they are going to host a world tournament. The winner gets a wish that is within the power of the company granted. And considering the Shadow Corporation's connections in the world, not much was out of their power.

The announcer waited for the crowd to calm down before continuing. "As an added bonus, the winner of this tournament will be given a very rare treat indeed! He will win the prize of one of the rare Supreme Duelist Series packs." The pack in question appeared on screens all around the area.

The pack itself was simply covered in gold foil and looked rather unremarkable, but anyone who knew about Duel Monsters knew that the five card pack contained special cards that no one else had a copy of. Every card in the Supreme Duelist series was one of a kind. That is why there were only 200 copies of the packs ever created, each one holding five unique cards of incredible power.

The announcer was silent for a moment while the screens all over the arena flickered with the names of all of the duelists in the tournament. The randomizer system came to a stop on a pair of names and the announcer yelled out, "Will Daniel Pilkington and Robert Mulcher please proceed to the dueling arena?"

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Daniel sighed. He stood up and tugged on his blue t-shirt out of habit. "I'll see you guys in a minute." He tried to put a nonchalant tone to his voice, but he knew he was failing miserably. This duel was going to be tough.

"You'll win this one. Just keep your cool and remember what we discussed last night about your deck," Deondre readjusted his cap and threw Daniel a conspiratorial wink. Daniel smiled and threw a thumbs-up to his friend. "Wish me luck you guys." His other friends CJ, Allon and Janeam all gave him rather casual nods. They knew not to make a big deal about this duel or else he would get nervous.

("Here we go.") Daniel walked onto the metal staircase that led to the arena and marched down it with his eyes locked on his opponent, who had already made it into the ring.

The guy that he was up against looked like he had just gotten out of a military academy, with his flat top blonde hair, his camouflage pants and shirt and his medium sized muscular frame.

Robert Mulcher stood with his arms across his chest and a grin on his face as he looked his opponent over. The guy they put him up against didn't look to be all that experienced of a duelist. With his slightly bent and worn glasses, his lean frame, and his messy red hair, Daniel didn't exactly look like a top-notch player. "You're my opponent? You sure you don't want to try your luck at the junior tourney?" He laughed heartily and watched as Daniel took his spot across from his opponent on the arena floor.

Daniel's duel disk clicked into place and he drew his five card hand. "You just go ahead and underestimate me. It'll make destroying you in this duel all the sweeter."

Robert snickered and his disk clicked into place too. "You're a funny guy huh? Let's see you laugh after I crush you."

The announcer yelled into the microphone, "Begin!" The score counters in the holographic projections above the two of them and on their disks lit up at 8000 and the holographic projectors of the arena hummed to life.

("So we're playing with the extended gameplay version of Duel Monsters.") Daniel really wasn't surprised. It made the duels last longer and that tended to mean more mistakes could be allowed by players without worry of losing the match because that mistake.

Not that Daniel had even the slightest intention of losing this match or making any mistakes. He had just looked his hand over and already knew exactly what his plan was in this duel. "Hey Mulcher, I'm so confident that I'm going to win that Supreme Duelist Series pack that I'll let you take the first move. How's that sound?"

Robert drew his sixth card and put on his best intimidating face. "Sure wimp. I'll set two cards face down and one monster in the defense. End turn." The brown-backed cards appeared on his field and a light over Daniel's life point projection lit up, indicating it was his turn now.

Daniel raised an eyebrow as he looked Robert's field over. "Playing defensively?" ("I wonder what his deck is meant to accomplish. If it was a beatdown strategy I would have expected an attack mode monster his first turn, but then again he might have plans to use a face-down flip effect to set me up for an attack on his next turn.")

Daniel drew his sixth card and slapped a monster down. "I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode!" A blue and yellow mechanical robot appeared on the field, a pair of cannon barrels pointing out of its shoulders. "X-Head Cannon fire!" The machine's weapons hummed to life and barraged Robert's face-down monster with energy.

As the bright light from the blast cleared, Daniel grimaced at what he saw on the field. Sitting in crouched position on Robert's field was an odd looking creature that looked like a machine version of a football player. "He had a Battle Footballer (1000/2100) on the field."

Daniel- 7600

Robert- 8000

Robert busted out laughing. "What kind of idiot attacks the first face-down monster on their opponent's field?"

Daniel went silent and stone-faced, sliding two face-down magic/trap cards into place on his disk and pressing the button that passed his turn to his opponent.

Robert drew his card and put on a smug grin. "Now I sacrifice my Footballer to summon Beast of Talwar. (2400/2000)" As the Footballer faded away it was replaced by a tall demon wielding a pair of falchions. "And now my monster will crush your pitiful excuse of an attacker." The Beast of Talwar howled a battle cry and charged forward, blades out to chop Daniel's X-Head Cannon down. Right before it got there though the ground underneath its body exploded, destroying the creature in a flash of heat and sound.

Robert's smile faded into a look of confusion. "What was that!?"

Daniel smiled through the smoke from the holographic explosion and slid one of his face-down trap cards into his graveyard. "That would be my Widespread Ruin trap card. It triggers whenever you declare an attack and destroys the strongest attack mode monster on your field. Now who's the idiot?" When Robert growled in anger and pressed the end turn button on his disk, Daniel knew he had the upper hand.

Drawing his card he picked up his X-Head Cannon and slid it into the graveyard. "Now I'll sacrifice my X-Head Cannon to summon my personal favorite. Let's give a warm round of applause for the real trap master, Jinzo!" With a mechanical howl, a tall green armored humanoid exploded up from the ground and crossed its arms across its chest menacingly. "And just so you don't make an even further idiot of yourself, I'll warn you not to use any traps near this guy. He doesn't like that at all, do you Jinzo?" When the metal monster nodded its head in agreement, everyone in the crowd blinked in confusion. Were the holograms supposed to interact with the players?

Robert snarled even louder. "Just make your move! I know what Jinzo's special ability does!"

Daniel feigned a hurt expression. "No need to yell at me." ("Alright Daniel let's not mock him anymore.") He lifted his hand and pointed at his opponent. "Jinzo unleash your Cyber shock attack!" Jinzo cupped his hands together and a ball of black energy formed. The gathered energy stretched within Jinzo's hands for a moment and then launched itself at Robert, slamming into his chest and sending him staggering backwards.

Daniel- 7600

Robert- 5600

Daniel returned the smug smile that Robert had once been wearing and saluted his opponent. "I end my turn." The odd part was that Jinzo mirrored his master's salute.

Robert drew a card off the top of his deck and looked even madder than he did before. "I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Daniel drew a card and suddenly his entire strategy changed. ("I had just planned to beat him down with Jinzo, but this card had much more potential for a devastating combo.") He picked a trio of cards out of his hand and set two of them underneath his duel disk and then laid the last one face-down and in a horizontal position. "I'll set one monster face-down on the field, and two cards in my magic/trap zone. End turn." That struck up a round of whispers amongst the crowd. Though Daniel kept his poker face, inside he was smiling. ("Won't they be surprised when they find out why I didn't attack.")

Robert scratched the back of his head and shrugged. He wasn't to argue with his opponent. If the fool didn't want to attack then it was all the better for him. He drew his next card and sighed. "I'll set another monster in defense and end my turn."

Daniel drew his next card and set it in the magic/trap zone on his disk. "End turn." Once again the whispers were getting louder.

Robert on the other hand was grinning from ear to ear. "You're one dumb guy, you know that right?" He drew and busted up laughing. "Now watch as I wipe you and your freak of a monster off the map." He slid a card face-up in his magic/trap zone. "I trigger the Change of Heart magic card to seize control of your face-down monster." The face-down monster card on Daniel's field slid over to Robert's field. "And now I'll summon my ultimate destroyer! I sacrifice every monster on my field to summon forth my all-powerful Earth Crusher! (4000/2500)"

There was an ear-splitting roar and as the three cards disappeared an enormous statue had taken their place on the field. The creature was at least 40' tall and made completely of black steel. It looked vaguely humanoid and the only distinct part of its body was the glowing red hole in the top of its skull.

Everyone gasped at the immensity of the creature. Even Daniel was a little intimidated by the thing, though unless its ability got rid of his face-down cards he wasn't too worried. "So what's your hunk of steel do?"

Robert frowned and the Earth Crusher howled in anger at being taken lightly. "I can only summon this creature during my first main phase. When I summon it all of the monsters on your field are destroyed and you lose 4000 life points, though it cannot attack the turn it was summoned." His frown shifted into that smug smile again. "Say bye-bye to favorite monster." The Earth Crusher reared back its fist and brought it crashing down, the shockwave from the blow annihilating Daniel's Jinzo and knocking Daniel himself to the floor.

Daniel- 3400

Robert- 5600

Daniel somehow managed to keep his poker face from breaking down as he got back onto his feet. ("That thing will wipe me out in one hit if it gets a direct attack on my life points.") Daniel drew his next card and didn't even bother to look at it. If he didn't stick with his plan then he had lost this duel anyway. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Up in the duelist stands Daniel's friends were starting to see that maybe their friend wasn't ready for this level of play after all. He had forgotten to attack his opponent twice and that had given Robert all of the time he needed to gather the necessary creatures to summon the Earth Crusher.

Allon looked over at Deondre and grimaced. "The two of you worked on his deck last night right? Doesn't he have something to get rid of that other guy's monster?"

Deondre was so focused on the duel he didn't even hear Allon. ("I know what you are getting ready to do Daniel, but are you sure it was the wisest choice?") He could only hope that his friend managed to pull through.

Robert drew his next card and growled. ("I need another monster or else I won't be able to get to this guy's life points.") "Earth Crusher will now annihilate your face-down monster!" The huge statue reared back its fist and then slammed it down over the card, the monster under it instantly destroyed. "You can't hide behind your weak defenses forever. End turn."

Even before he drew Daniel was smiling widely. "I don't need to hide behind my defenses anymore. You ready to lose Robert?"

For a moment fear flashed across Robert's face, and then it dissolved into laughter. "Oh I get it! You're trying to bluff me. Too bad I don't scare that easily."

Daniel shook his head. "I'm dead serious. Watch closely now. First I reveal my face-down trap card Pyro Clock of Destiny, which moves the turn count of the duel forward by one." An ancient clock appeared in the air and the hand on it spun forward rapidly before the hologram faded from view.

Everyone sat in silence now, unsure how using that card had affected the duel at all. Finally the silence was broken by Robert. "Was that random move supposed to scare me?"

Daniel shook his head again. "On its own it wasn't. However when I combine Pyro Clock of Destiny with my face-down Rise of the Machines continuous magic card you might start seeing the possibilities. You see Rise of the Machines lets me special summon one machine type monster from my graveyard for every turn that it has been set on the field and that I have not attacked you. Thanks to my trap card that makes four turns and therefore four machine monsters."

A conveyor belt appeared out of nowhere and started rolling, with the end of it touching Daniel's monster zone. "I'll choose to first bring back an old friend. Come on back Jinzo!" The belt screeched as the revived Jinzo came out from it. The metal humanoid floated out of the way of the belt and spun to chuckle coldly at Robert.

Robert smirked back at Jinzo. "What's that piece of junk metal going to do to my monster?"

Daniel snapped his fingers and the belt started up again. "Next up I will resurrect the three other machines in my graveyard. You've already met X-Head Cannon, but let me introduce you to Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank." The conveyor belt spat out the blue and yellow X-Head Cannon next, followed by the red Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600) and the yellow Z-Metal Tank. (1500/1300).

Robert snorted derisively. "So what does all this mean? They're still a bunch of inferior monsters compared to my Earth Crusher." Behind him the Earth Crusher released an unearthly howl of anger as if in agreement with its master.

Daniel sighed. "Let me just show you. I combine my three pieces to form the XYZ Dragon Cannon." (2800/2600) The three robots seemed to blow into pieces and then reconfigure to form an enormous hover-tank bristling with weapons. "And before you say anything else, let me show its special ability. By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy any card on the field."

Daniel slid a card into the graveyard and the Dragon Cannon began to gather energy in all of its weapons. "I target your precious Earth Crusher." In a flash of laser energy the Cannon blew the Earth Crusher to pieces, leaving Robert with nothing to protect him. "And for the finale I'll trigger the magic card Monster Reborn to revive a monster from either graveyard. I choose to bring back your Beast of Talwar under my control!" As the falchion-wielding demon appeared all three of Daniel's monsters prepared their attacks, simply waiting for his signal.

It never came. Robert placed his hand on his deck and sighed. "I surrender."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: CJ vs. Commander

Author's notes: By the way I am looking for characters/decks. So far I don't really have a limit on how many more character/decks I need. Please contact me if you have anything to offer. I also accept original card ideas too.

Original cards used in this chapter 

Earth Crusher

Rise of the Machines


	2. Beast vs Knight

_Daniel slid a card into the graveyard and the Dragon Cannon began to gather energy in all of its weapons. "I target your precious Earth Crusher." In a flash of laser energy the Cannon blew the Earth Crusher to pieces, leaving Robert with nothing to protect him. "And for the finale I'll trigger the magic card Monster Reborn to revive a monster from either graveyard. I choose to bring back your Beast of Talwar under my control!" As the falchion-wielding demon appeared all three of Daniel's monsters prepared their attacks, simply waiting for his signal._

_It never came. Robert placed his hand on his deck and sighed. "I surrender."_

The scene had been replayed over and over on the television in his office. Something about the way that boy had played his combo had sparked something in the man's head. It was so deliciously lethal to watch the boy dash his opponent's hopes of winning on the rocks. ("Perhaps he is worthy of the test.")

The man reached over and pressed a button on his desk, listening to the buzzer. Seconds later a voice came on the other line. "Yes sir?"

Eyes still watching the replays of the duel the man said, "Send an emissary to test the duelist named Daniel Pilkington."

There was silence on the other end of the line, until finally the voice asked, "And what would the ordered punishment be if the boy failed the test?"

A dark smile crossed his lips. "It would be the same punishment that any other duelist who fails the test gets."

_It never came. Robert placed his hand on his deck and sighed. "I surrender."_

"Kill him."

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Amidst the cheers and applause, Daniel couldn't help but smile. He removed his graveyard from his duel disk and shuffled all of his cards back together, before pocketing his deck. Robert had already left the arena in a rage, so Daniel didn't get a chance to shake his hand and say good game. ("Oh well, his loss.") The announcer announced the next duel while Daniel rejoined the others up in the duelist stands.

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Deondre smiled widely and clapped Daniel on the shoulder. "Who'd have thought that magic card you had would actually win you a game?" Everyone around Daniel shook their heads at that. They didn't understand why he had stopped attacking just so he could use that combo.

Blushing slightly, Daniel shrugged. "I like Rise of the Machines. It's a cool card and the ability is awesome. Can you blame me for wanting to try the combo?"

Allon added in, "But you could have lost because of it. It was a pretty foolish move. I thought all of us taught you the game better than that Daniel."

As all of his friends scolded him, Daniel lowered his eyes to his feet and mumbled defensively, "Hey I won the duel didn't I?"

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The announcer called out of the name's of the next few matches. Each one passed by rather unspectacularly, at least in Daniel's opinion. It did give him a look at the strategies of opponents that he might be facing in the near future though, so he kept his attention on each game and quickly memorized any new card effects he saw being played.

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Outside of the stadium a jet helicopter landed down on top of the building's roof. As the engine cooled down the door of the vehicle opened and a man hopped out, his features completely obscured by a thick black cloak he is wearing. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a photo of his target. Making sure he had every little detail of the boy's face down in his head, he crumpled the picture and threw it to the wind.

"How long will you be?" The pilot asked from inside the helicopter.

"From what the master has said the boy possesses an effective deck. I however, doubt he will be a challenge. I will keep in touch. Be ready if I need an emergency escape from this place." When the pilot nodded the cloaked man turned and entered the building through the roof stairs. ("Daniel Pilkington will soon find himself wishing he had never been born.")

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As another duel came to its end CJ sighed and put his head in his hands. Every deck he had seen so far was rather boring, and it was driving him nuts. He was a big man with dark-skin, and because of his temper his friends always related him to a gorilla. ("I can't wait for my chance to show the guys that my new deck possesses strategies that none of them could even hope to beat.") He'd show them that he wasn't just a mindless beatdown player.

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The randomizer machine flickered with the names of the remaining duelists, until it finally came to a stop. The announcer yelled into the microphone, "Will CJ Anderson and Commander please step into the dueling arena!"

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CJ clapped his hands together in joy. ("All right, here we go!") He slid his duel disk onto his arm and turned to his friends. "Wish me luck."

Daniel patted his friend on the back and smiled. "You won't need it. You've got all the luck you need."

Deondre nodded. "Yeah, he is the best out of all of us when it comes to top-decking the cards he needs." He ducked when CJ threw a punch for his head.

Growling, CJ ignored whatever jibes Allon and Janeam had for him, stomping down the steps and into the arena. He looked around at the other parts of the stands and scratched the top of his head. "Where's my opponent?"

The sound of a horse caught his attention as a man in a suit of medieval knight's armor rode up on the horse from the ground level entrance. "I shall be your opponent!"

The entire arena went silent as the man climbed off his horse. Finally CJ broke the silence. "Is this some kind of joke!?"

His knight's armor hiding his face, Commander chuckled and took his position facing CJ in the ring. His Duel Disk clicked into place and the life point total appeared above his head. "What's the matter varlet? Does my appearance frighten you?"

CJ's Duel Disk clicked into place and his life point total appeared. "Nobody frightens me! Bring it on tin man!"

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Up in the duelist stands Janeam shook his head. "Is it just me or does CJ always get the opponents who just aren't right in the head?"

Allon scratched at his beard and nodded. "You're right he does tend to play against crazy people. Maybe it's just because he is a mad man himself?" That put all four of the friends deep into thought. They would have gotten into a deeper debate, but the duel was starting.

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Commander drew his five cards and bowed to CJ. "As an act of charity you may go first."

CJ drew and threw down a monster onto his disk. "I summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) in attack mode. End turn." A demonic looking dog appeared and howled, before bringing its snarling gaze upon the armored duelist.

Commander drew his card and laughed haughtily. "I shall slay thy beast! I summon forth the mighty Warrior Dai Grapher (1700/1650) in attack mode! And then to arm him properly I shall give him the magic card Legendary Sword, to raise his attack and defense power by 300 points!" (2000/1950) A burly warrior carrying a sword appeared and snapped his weapon back and forth, yelling out a battle cry as his sword was replaced by a much fancier blade.

"Now Warrior Dai Grapher, attack his monster!" Dai Grapher flew across the field and in one slice the Mad Dog was destroyed.

CJ- 7900

Commander- 8000

CJ considered throwing an insult at Commander, but changed his mind about it. ("I have to show the other guys that I'm not the berserk duelist that I used to be.") He took a deep breath and drew his next card. "I summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode." A tall red-faced Minotaur beast appeared on the field and snorted, brandishing its weapon. He grabbed another card from his hand and slid it into the bottom of the duel disk. "Next up I'll give him a boost with the United We Stand magic card. This'll increase his attack power by 800 points for every monster I have on the field!" The Enraged Battle Ox howled as it started to glow. (2500/1800)

CJ pointed at Commander's Warrior Dai Grapher. "Now tear down his Warrior!" The Enraged Battle Ox lunged forward and in one slash Dai Grapher was gone.

CJ-7900

Commander-7500

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Deondre sighed and shook his head. "CJ and his beatdown strategy is such an old thing for him. He needs to look into a new strategy." He made sure he said this just loud enough for CJ to hear, eliciting an angered growl from said beatdown duelist's throat.

Daniel slapped Deondre in the back of the head. "Stop criticizing him Deondre. Want me to get on your case about you never changing your strategy?"

Deondre grimaced in protest, but he went silent and watched the duel.

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Commander chuckled again and drew. "You're a pitiful excuse of a duelist. Is brute force your only answer to a problem? It'll be your downfall you know?" He set two cards in his magic/trap zone and ended his turn.

CJ looked like he was on the verge of going over and beating Commander senseless. "I've had enough of your insults! Try this!" He drew and forcefully tossed another onto his disk. "GO D.D. CRAZY BEAST! (1400/1400)" A strange looking red and teal beast with googly eyes appeared and made a weird garbling roar.

His voice calmed slightly as the energy of United We Stand increased the Enraged Battle Ox's power. (3300/2600) "Now I'll show you that I don't need strategy to beat you! Show him what I mean Crazy Beast!" The odd beast roared and flew in, biting Commander forcefully on the shoulder.

CJ- 7900

Commander- 6100

CJ motioned to his Battle Ox next. "Now send him to his knees beneath your might Enraged Battle Ox. Axe slam attack!" The Battle Ox launched in next and brought its weapon down hard on Commander's shoulder, sending him to the ground.

CJ- 7900

Commander- 2800

As Commander stumbled to his feet CJ smiled. "You still wanna talk big tin man? Or maybe you should just surrender now. You won't recover from the damage my attack dealt to you."

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Up in the duelist stands Daniel stood up and shook his head in frustration at CJ's actions. "I'm going to go get something to drink. Does one of you guys want to tell him his mistake?"

Deondre smiled slightly. "Naw, he'll figure out soon enough that Commander wanted him to attack. I'll tell you if you missed anything important." Daniel nodded and jogged up the steps to the exit.

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Commander drew his next card and sighed. "You are an angry fool. That is one of the most dangerous kinds of idiots in the world." His Duel Disk slid open a slot for a field magic card and he played it. "Prepare to face the true power of a strategist. I play the field magic card Castle of Knights!" There was an earth-shaking rumble and a huge castle started to form at Commander's feet, lifting him high up above the arena. Everyone found it hard to believe that the hologram was somehow keeping him up in the air, but since it was somehow doing so they didn't argue.

CJ felt the sweat drip down his back. "And what does your little house do?"

Commander struck a noble pose. "I am so glad you asked! You see I can only activate this card if on the turn before I play it I have lost at least 4000 life points. Thanks to your foolhardy strategy of attack I have met that requirement easily."

CJ would have gone over and beaten Commander to a literal pulp right the and there if he could, but his opponent was several dozen feet in the air above him. "You never answered my question!"

Commander chuckled again. "Ah yes. My Castle of Knights has many powers. The first is that it restores my life points by 8000!" A golden glow enveloped him and his life point total sky-rocketed.

CJ- 7900

Commander- 10, 800

"Its next power is that as long as it is on the field all of my warrior sub-type monsters gain 1000 defense points." He took a card from his hand and slid it into his graveyard. "The final ability is that once per turn I may discard a card from my hand to summon forth a Castle Knight (1000/2500) in defense mode!" The drawbridge to the castle opened up and a plain looking knight trudged out, falling to one knee with his shield in front of him.

Commander pressed his end turn button. "I end my turn. Make your next move knave."

CJ growled and looked the field over. Then he looked his hand over and sighed heavily. ("Nothing I have in my hand can get past his castle. I'm going to have to draw something or else he will have me locked out of attacking.") His hand inched for the top card of his deck. He drew it and everyone in the lower audience stared in awe. CJ opened his eyes slowly and a smile crossed his lips. ("Topdeck.")

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Daniel started his slow trek back to the arena from the concession stands. He really wasn't in any hurry. ("I've seen the Castle of Knights deck strategy before. It's a top level defense card for Warriors. It's going to take everything that CJ has to beat through it.")

The cloaked man looked out from around the corner and saw his quarry. Stepping out from behind the pillar he was using as cover he yelled, "Boy!"

Daniel looked behind him lazily and saw a tall guy with a black cloak obscuring his features confronting him. "Something you want? Autograph maybe?" He knew it was a bad joke but the guy didn't exactly seem like someone who wished him well, so he really didn't care.

"I have come here to challenge Daniel Pilkington to a duel. The Shadow Corporation requests a showing of your skills as a duelist." The cloaked man swept his cape aside to reveal a duel disk clicked into place.

Daniel watched him a few second, then turned away and kept walking. "Whatever buddy. I have an important duel to get back to."

("The Master told me that you might be unwilling to cooperate.") He put on an air of feigned sadness. "So you do not wish to duel. Such a shame it will be to have to throw this Blowback Dragon monster card away."

Daniel froze in his tracks and spun around, his duel disk already clicked into place. "You never told me that a Blowback Dragon would on the line if I won. Of course I'll play you then!"

The cloaked man shed his disguise, revealing almost hawkish features and pale face on his gaunt frame. "Excellent. I was hoping you would see it my way. My name is Hawk by the way." He threw a strange black box about the size of a deck box to Daniel. "Your card is in there. Attach it to your arm and the duel shall begin."

Daniel checked the box over and didn't see anything sinister about it, so he pressed it against his arm. It made a whirr noise and a black band snapped out around his bicep, latching the box to him. Before he could protest he felt something from inside the box stab into his skin. "GAHH!!! What is this thing!?!?" He tugged on it, and that only moved whatever was stuck in his arm around, sending jolts of pain into him.

Hawk smiled coldly. "Consider it a handicap, and also consider it your part of the bet. That device has a powerful group of surgical nanomachines within it. Now those machines are within your blood stream. When you take damage in the duel they will damage your body in.....interesting ways. When you run out of life points they are programmed to kill off your brain."

When he saw Daniel's terrified expression he couldn't help but smile. "Look on the bright side though. If you win you get a Blowback Dragon. If you lose though you will die. I suggest you duel you hardest." His maniacal laughter sent chills up Daniel's spine.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Shadow's test

Author's notes: Hey there! I'm glad I got some reviews from people. Really refreshing to actually know that people are reading my stuff. I'd like to thank anyone who sent in character/deck ideas, and I still wouldn't mind more if anyone else is willing to send in stuff. By the way, I know that I made fun of CJ and his Earth Beatdown deck a lot in this chapter, but don't flame me if you like beatdowns. I like them too.


	3. The Shadow's test

Disclaimer- I don't own Yugioh or anything that has to do with it, except this fic and all original cards used.

Demon Duelist Legacy Chapter 3- The Shadow's test

_Hawk smiled coldly. "Consider it a handicap, and also consider it your part of the bet. That device has a powerful group of surgical nanomachines within it. Now those machines are within your blood stream. When you take damage in the duel they will damage your body in.....interesting ways. When you run out of life points they are programmed to kill off your brain." _

_When he saw Daniel's terrified expression he couldn't help but smile. "Look on the bright side though. If you win you get a Blowback Dragon. If you lose you will die. I suggest you duel you hardest." His maniacal laughter sent chills up Daniel's spine._

Hawk drew his five and motioned to Daniel. "Since I was the one to make the challenge you are more then welcome to go first."

Daniel grimaced at the device that was attached to his arm. He didn't bother trying to run, because he doubted that Hawk had overlooked the possibility. The thing would probably explode if he went out of range of Hawk. ("Looks like I'll just have to win.") He drew his five cards and then his sixth. Looking his options over, he smiled. ("I've got this duel in the bag.") "I set two cards face-down and a monster in defense mode. End turn."

Hawk smiled at the three cards on his opponent's holographic field. "I hope you don't expect me to attack. For I will set one monster in defense and two cards face- down on my field, just like you did. End turn."

Daniel drew and smiled. "I don't care what you do. Time for the big man himself! I sacrifice my face-down Mechanical Chaser to summon Jinzo!" A strange looking metal pod with six spindly arms appeared, and then faded as it was sacrificed.

Hawk grinned like a bird that had just seen a mouse in the middle of an open field. "I activate Horn of Heaven. By sacrificing my face-down Sangan, not only can I counter Jinzo before he ever hits the field, but I can also search my deck for a monster with 1500 or less attack points and place it into my hand." A furry three-eyed beast appeared on Hawk's field, and then turned into an ornate horn that blew the slowly appearing form of Jinzo off the field.

Daniel growled at being foiled and slid his favorite monster into his graveyard. ("Well so much for that plan working out.") "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Hawk drew and flipped his other face-down card. "Next I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon, crushing one of your face-down cards. I choose the center one." A sudden wind picked up and Daniel's center magic/trap exploded into pieces.

Sighing sadly, Daniel pulled his Rise of the Machines card out of its slot and slid it into his graveyard. ("He's picking my strategies apart.")

Hawk smiled that cold smile again and set a monster in defense mode. "Give it up boy. I can beat you with almost no effort. End turn."

Daniel drew and set a monster face-down. "Shut up. End turn."

Hawk drew and set one card face-down and another monster in defense. "End turn."

Daniel already knew it would be foolish to attack. ("But what can I do? It's attack or let him build up a defense in this duel. Doing either are bad choices, but letting him build a defense is worse.") His blood ran cold as he realized why Hawk was playing on the defense. "How much time do I have in this duel?"

Hawk's smile got even wider. "That's very perceptive of you boy. In ten minutes the nanomachines are going to kill you regardless of the score. You've got ten minutes to take me down." His laughter rang out through the cold metal hallway, grating on Daniel's ears.

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_CJ growled and looked the field over. Then he looked his hand over and sighed heavily. ("Nothing I have in my hand can get past his castle. I'm going to have to draw something or else he will have me locked out of attacking.") His hand inched for the top card of his deck. He drew it and everyone in the lower audience stared in awe. CJ opened his eyes slowly and a smile crossed his lips. ("Top deck.")_

"I activate the magic card Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards from my deck." He drew his two new cards and grinned. "Say goodbye to your pretty castle. I activate Heavy Storm to blow all magic and trap cards off the field!" A heavy wind picked up on the field and CJ's United We Stand card shattered. Then the wind started to travel over to Commander's field.

Commander pressed a button on his disk and flipped his face-down trap. "Reveal Weather the Storm! This will negate any effect that would destroy my Castle and I will also gain 2000 life points." The wind dissipated and Commander was encompassed by a green glow.

CJ- 7900

Commander- 12, 800

CJ set one monster card face-down and two magic/traps on his field. "End turn." ("I'm finished. He's got every counter needed to handle my deck.") He sighed and got ready for Commander's assault.

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"Here goes nothing!" Daniel had to end this quickly. "I sacrifice my face-down X-Head Cannon to summon Machine King (2200/2000) to the field!" A large humanoid robot appeared on the field and lifted its rocket arms to point at Hawk. "Thanks to his special ability my King gains 100 attack points for every machine on the field, including himself." (2300/2200)

"Now my Machine King attack him with your Rocket Punch!" Giving off a whirring noise, the King's rocket fists flew across the field and crushed the face-down monster.

Hawk's smile didn't relent. "You attacked my Shadow Jam." (1000/1000) For a moment nothing happened, and then a blob of black goo formed on Hawk's field. "When it is destroyed in battle I may sacrifice 2000 life points to bring it back from the graveyard in defense mode. You also lose 1000 life points when I do this."

Daniel- 7000

Hawk- 6000

Daniel was about to ask what else Shadow Jam did, but his words caught in his throat as pain spiked through his body. It got more and more intense until he almost lost consciousness altogether. Finally the pain stopped and he fell to his knees panting, blood dribbling from his mouth to the ground.

Hawk couldn't help but add to the pain of the situation. "Oh by the way, I'm going to activate my face-down Provocation trap card. This forces all of your monsters on the field to attack my Shadow Jam at the start of every one of your turns, regardless of the monster's mode. Anything else you would like to do to add to your suffering?"

Daniel slowly came to his feet and spit out a gob of blood to the stone walkway. "I told you once and I'll tell you again. Shut up. I'll finish my turn with one card face-down on my field."

Hawk drew his next card, his cold grin wider than ever. "Two cards face-down and I end my turn."

Daniel drew and braced himself as his Machine King fired its fists at the Shadow Jam and blew it to pieces. Seconds later the black blob reformed on the field.

Daniel- 6000

Hawk- 4000

Daniel didn't have pain all over his body this time. Instead it all came to his left leg. He gritted his teeth and went to one knee as it felt like someone was electrocuting his left leg alone. He felt his leg twitch at the damage that was being dealt to it, until with one loud pop his knee blew out.

He fell to the floor screaming and yet somehow he managed to avoid dropping his hand of cards. His vision started to blur and everyone part of him just wanted to lay down and die, but he had to try and win this duel. With about seven minutes left before he was killed, he didn't have time to feel pain.

Wincing, he stayed on the ground and kept his weight on his one good knee. "I...set one card....face-down," He took in a deep breath and slapped a monster onto the duel disk. "And I'll summon Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in attack mode. End....turn." A mechanical creature appeared on his field that was covered by several mirrors.

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Commander drew and laughed long and hard. "Now I shall summon forth another Castle Knight token by discarding a card from my hand." Another Castle Knight trudged onto the field and kneeled next to its counterpart.

Commander's suit of armor rustled as he slapped a monster down on his disk. "Now it is time to call in the artillery squad. I summon Throwstone Unit (1000/3000) in attack mode." The drawbridge to the castle opened and a catapult rolled out onto the field. "End turn."

CJ looked at the defenseless Throwstone Unit and drew, already smiling widely. "That was a bad idea tin man. I sacrifice my face-down monster to summon my Manticore of Darkness! (2300/1200)" There was an echoing howl from the ceiling as a winged lion beast floated to the ground in front of CJ.

Now Manticore of Darkness take down his Throwstone Unit!" The lion howled and lunged across the field. Right before it reached the catapult though one of the Castle Knights leaped in the way and deflected the Manticore off its shield.

CJ- 7700

Commander- 12, 800

Commander laughed heartily at the confused look that came onto CJ's face. "You are truly one of the most gullible players of this game I have ever seen. I wanted you to attack my Throwstone Unit. That way I could trigger my face-down Vanguard trap card. As long as this continuous trap is on the field I can block any of your attacks with one of my Castle Knights."

CJ grimaced and set one card face-down and one monster in face-down defense. "End turn."

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Daniel watched through blurred eyes as Hawk drew his card. "Don't worry boy, I'll put you out of your misery soon enough. I play the continuous magic card Amplified Pain. It is an extremely rare card that doubles all amounts of damage you take from monster effects. End turn."

Hands shaking uncontrollably, Daniel drew and without even looking set the card face-down. ("Here it goes.") His Reflect Bounder and his Machine King powered up their attacks and hit the Shadow Jam. Right before the two attacks landed though Hawk flipped up a face-down card. "I activate the rarest card in my deck, Good Reaction to Simochi! Now any life point reductions from monster effects become life point increases for me!" As the trap flipped up and the jam was blown apart twice, Daniel braced himself for the pain.

Daniel- 2000

Hawk- 8000

Daniel knew that it was coming, but it didn't matter how prepared he was for it. He could feel nothing but agony as the nanomachines seemed to drill holes in his skull and spine. ("If I go ....out.") He managed one gargling scream of pain before collapsing, a pool of blood forming at his mouth.

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Commander drew and slapped a monster onto the field. "I sacrifice a Castle Knight to summon forth King of the Castle Arthur (2400/2200) in attack mode!" A knight in golden armor appeared next to Commander and the remaining Castle Knight bowed to him.

"As long as Arthur is out whenever I summon forth a Castle Knight you lose 1000 life points. I shall do so now." Commander discarded the last card in his hand and as a new Castle Knight trudged out to join the other, Arthur waves his gauntleted hand and CJ's life points dropped.

CJ- 6700

Commander- 12, 800

"Now it's time to start my assault on your monsters! Arthur shall attack your Crazy Beast!" Arthur drew his sword and leaped down from the castle, flying across the ground and slashing the D.D. Crazy Beast to pieces.

CJ- 5700

Commander- 12, 800

Commander laughed as his monster returned to the top of the castle. "Do you surrender yet fool?"

CJ drew and didn't bother to respond. "I set one monster in defense, and then I'll place the rest of my creatures in defense mode. End turn."

Commander sighed and drew. "Observe as luck favors me. I play Pot of Greed. Now I shall draw two cards from my deck!" He drew them both and slapped down a monster. A silver armored knight appeared on the top of the castle next to both Arthur and Commander. "I summon Royal Knight Lancelot (1200/2400) in attack mode. With his special ability now whenever I summon my Castle Knight, a second one is summoned to join it."

Smiling as CJ paled, he snapped his fingers. "Now I sacrifice my two Knights to my Throwstone Unit, which deals you half of their attack in damage." The two Knights climbed onto the catapult and were launched at CJ, slamming into him and bowling him over.

CJ- 4700

Commander- 12, 800

Commander slid his last card into the graveyard. "I'm sure you know what comes next. I shall summon forth two Castle Knights." The drawbridge to the Castle opened again and a pair of Castle Knights marched out, kneeling before the entrance to the castle. Arthur waved his sword and CJ grimaced as his life points plummeted more.

CJ- 2700

Commander- 12, 800

"Finally, I shall have Arthur attack your face-down monster!" The golden knight came down from the castle and cut the card in half. As it faded CJ smiled slightly and held up the card.

"This is my Giant Rat. When it is destroyed in battle I am allowed to special summon any earth attribute monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck to my field in attack mode. I shall summon another one of my Giant Rats. (1400/1450)

Commander shrugged at that. "Why should I care? Before my turn ends Arthur shall attack thy Battle Ox." The silver knight flew down and slashed the Minotaur monster to ribbons.

CJ drew and took a deep breath. He had yet to look at the card in his hand, but if it wasn't a good card then the duel was over. His eyes slowly opened and as he saw the card he sighed tiredly. "I end my turn."

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From up in the stands Deondre, Janeam and Allon all stared in horror. Finally the silence was broken by Deondre. "You can't give up CJ! I'm sorry about what I said before! Don't just give up like that!"

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CJ smiled weakly and shook his head. "Ignore the peanut gallery Commander. I end my turn and that's mean it's your move. Let's end this quick."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: A pair of miracles

Author's Notes: Just a few notes on this chapter. All of the Knight stuff that Commander uses are my creations. So is every card you have seen Hawk use so far. Still can use anything you guys want to offer to me. Feel free to tell your friends about this fic by the way. Later.


	4. A Pair of Miracles

Disclaimer- I don't own anything that has to do with Yugioh except for the original cards in this fic and the fic itself.

Chapter 4-A Pair of Miracles

_CJ smiled weakly and shook his head. "Ignore the peanut gallery Commander. I end my turn and that means that it is your move. Let's end this quick."_

Commander's armor rustled as he drew his card. "What a refreshing change in attitude from you. Why so accepting of your fate all of a sudden?"

CJ smiled sadly. "It's what I am destined for."

Commander sighed. "Your spirit should not be so broken. You put up a good fight boy." His Throwstone Unit clicked into place and fired the two Castle Knights at CJ, but when they hit the dark-skinned man he didn't budge from where he was standing as before where they had knocked him to the ground. "It's time to do just as you said before. Let's end this."

CJ- 1700

Commander- 12, 800

Commander's hand moved to drop the last card in his hand into the graveyard, which would summon two more Castle Knights, and then Arthur would wipe out CJ's life points with his special ability. Something happened on his field though that drew his attention away from making that action.

CJ's Giant Rat flew across the field and scaled the castle, tearing Lancelot to pieces.

CJ- 1700

Commander- 12, 600

"What the blazes was that!?" Commander couldn't understand what was going on. Why had the Giant Rat attacked him on his turn!?

CJ smiled warmly and showed his face-down card to Commander. "Did you think I meant it was my fate to lose? I meant it was my fate to win." His face turned stern. "Say hello to the card that will be your demise, Berserker's Fury! This trap card ends your turn and makes it my turn. I get an extra battle phase before my draw phase on this turn. That's not all either. I get my normal battle phase too. The only downside is that if by the end of my second battle phase I can't end the duel, then I lose instantly."

Commander growled from deep within his armor. "Good luck trying to get past my defenses fool!"

CJ kept his face stern. "I don't need luck for this win. I've got all of the cards I need to win with right here on my field. I reveal my Final Attack Orders! This continuous trap card forces all monsters on the field into attack mode!"

Commander gasped in fear as he realized what that single trap had done. He was wide open to CJ's attack. With groans of protest his two Castle Knights rose from their crouching positions as they switched into attack mode.

CJ allowed himself a small smile. "That switches my Manticore of Darkness and my face-down Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) into attack mode!" A large fire-breathing gorilla appeared on the field and roared, pounding its chest with its fists. As both monsters stood up from their crouches, they roared and lunged forward, tearing apart both of Commander's Castle Knights.

CJ- 1700

Commander- 10, 300

CJ drew his card for the turn after his first battle phase ended. "It's time to wipe you out! I summon Panther Warrior (2000/1600) in attack mode!" A humanoid panther wielding a shield and sword appeared on the field and its roar joined the chorus of howls that came from CJ's other monsters.

Commander did the math of the creature's attack points in his head and chuckled. "It won't be enough to finish me off boy."

CJ didn't pay him any mind. "Now I activate the other card in my hand. I use Monster Reborn to revive the monster I sacrificed for my Manticore. Another Berserk Gorilla in attack mode. Now I'll trigger the last card I have. Reveal my face-down magic card Wild Nature's Release! This allows me to add the defense of my beast or beast-warrior monsters to their attack points. The downside is that my monsters all die at the end of the turn, but considering the situation that's not a problem. So it's time to unleash the fury!"

Every monster on CJ's field screamed in newfound rage, their power sky-rocketing as the magic card transferred their defense points to their attack points.

Panther Warrior (3600/0)

Berserk Gorilla (3000/0)

Manticore of Darkness (3500/0)

Giant Rat (2850/0)

"First off I'll have Giant Rat get rid of your Throwstone Unit!" The Rat screeched and slammed into the catapult, ripping it to shreds.

CJ- 1700

Commander- 8450

"My Panther Warrior requires that I sacrifice a monster for it to attack, so I'll get rid of my Giant Rat so my Panther can get rid of Arthur!" The Rat faded off the field and CJ's Panther Warrior charged, cutting straight through all of Arthur's armor in one slice.

CJ- 1700

Commander- 7250

CJ smiled and in a strangely un-characteristic move for him he bowed to Commander. "I've had a lot of fun in this duel Commander, but it looks like you have lost. No hard feelings right?"

Commander sighed and shook his helmeted head. "No hard feelings CJ Anderson. Now please finish this."

CJ nodded and pointed at Commander. "You heard the man boys. Combine your power for a direct attack!" His monsters all roared their affirmative and flew across the field, each striking Commander with their fists or claws.

CJ- 1700

Commander- 0

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Everyone in the stands had gone silent as CJ had performed his final assault. Then all at once they broke into wild cheers and applause.

Deondre was standing up in his seat cheering and clapping. "Remind me never to make fun of Earth Beatdown again!"

Janeam and Allon both sighed. They knew the second that CJ got back up to the stands Deondre was going to grill him about waiting to finish the game in one move. It didn't matter though. Some things in their lives were constant. The sun rose. The sun would set. Deondre and CJ argued. It was impossible to stop.

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As the Castle of Knights lowered into the ground, Commander strode across the ring and bowed once more to CJ. "I owe you a debt of gratitude CJ Anderson. You have shown me the errors in my deck and now I may correct them." He took his deck and pulled a card out of it, holding it out to him. "This card should help you in the tournament. Please use it with my blessing." CJ smiled, took the card, and then he and Commander shook hands. With that the knight got onto his horse and rode out the ground level exit, leaving CJ with a new card, the cheers of the crowd in his ears, and memories of a new friend.

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Hawk chuckled as he stood patiently, watching the unmoving form of Daniel Pilkington. The boy had yet to move and the clock was ticking down. Daniel had less than ten seconds left before the nanomachines in his blood would attack his brain stem and shut it down, killing him instantly.

("Considering the bad situation he was stuck in with his game against me, I doubt he could finish this even if he wasn't unconscious.") Hawk's expression had gone back to cold and unreadable as he watched the clock tick to zero.

Daniel's unconscious form started to convulse wildly as the nanomachines attacked him from the inside. With one final spasm, his eyes shot open and then glazed over with the shroud of death.

Hawk chuckled coolly and was about to go retrieve the device from Daniel's arm like his master had ordered him to do, but something seemed wrong with this situation. He understood what it was when Daniel's body lurched to its feet.

Hawk had seen many things in his career with the Shadow Corporation, but this was beyond even his experience. He felt his already pale face drain of blood as the corpse stared at him dead eyes. "Wha...wha...what's going on!? You should be dead!!!"

Daniel's body ignored him. It reached down and pressed a button on its duel disk. In a monotone voice it said, "I activate my face-down Monster Reborn card to summon Jinzo back from the graveyard." The earth in front of the corpse shuddered and the green metal armored form of Jinzo rose up from the graveyard, chuckling in its mechanical voice as it recognized the foolish human who had dared to use a trap to destroy it. "And now I shall even the odds for Daniel," said Jinzo angrily, the red lenses of his eyes glowing as they stared down Hawk.

Hawk's eyes snapped so wide open that they looked like they might pop free of their sockets. "What trickery is this!?"

Jinzo chuckled once again and raised its hand up. Hawk shivered slightly as he watched the corpse of Daniel mirror the motion. "There is no trickery here. I will not let you kill this boy. He and I have a purpose that must be fulfilled." Daniel's hand pressed another button on his duel disk and another card flipped up.

Hawk blinked in confusion as he had never seen the card that had been revealed ever before. "What does that do?" He felt rather stupid asking the question to a Duel Monster.

If Jinzo could smile it would have. "It's the magic card called Repair and Reinforce. This will raise Daniel's life points by twice what he has lost because of his opponent's card effects since his last turn. That means that he gains 8000 life points."

Daniel- 10000

Hawk- 8000

Daniel's body spasmed once more and collapsed. Unlike before though where the nanomachines had been killing Daniel, this time though it looked like they were repairing all of the damage they had done to him.

Hawk screamed in rage. "You dare to interfere with this duel!? Who are you!?"

Jinzo chuckled once more. "That is not for you to know puppet. Now watch as Daniel defeats you. Oh and on that note, tell your master that if he continues to bother this boy the consequences for his actions might be...quite painful." The mechanical monster went silent and seemed less animated than before.

Daniel came to his feet. He wasn't sure how he was still alive, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If the nanomachines decided to go haywire and not kill him, he didn't have any complaints. ("I don't remember activating Monster Reborn or Repair and Reinforce though.") He shrugged the blank spot in his memory off as shock from the pain of the nanomachines. "It looks like I survived your little handicap."

Hawk thought about mentioning the Jinzo but decided against it. He doubted Daniel knew anything about what had just happened anyway. "It's not like it matters foolish boy. You cannot win this duel. I'll still pul your life points to zero and then you will die anyway."

Daniel held up the last card in his hand, its back still to Hawk. "With Jinzo on my field you can't use your traps, so this entire duel is going to come down to a flip of a coin. First I flip up one of my two face-down cards. I reveal Brain Control. This allows me to seize control of one of your monsters and bring it to my side of the field. I choose to gain control of your Shadow Jam." A floating brain appeared on the field and from it a pair of clawed hands reached out and grasped the Shadow Jam tightly. The claws pulled it over to Daniel's side of the field and then they disappeared.

Hawk chuckled. "What are you expecting to accomplish?"

Daniel slapped the last card in his hand onto his field and threw his Reflect Bounder and Hawk's Shadow Jam into his graveyard. "I shall sacrifice these two monsters to summon my Barrel Dragon (2600/2300) in attack mode." A two-legged mechanical dragon with gun barrels for a head and arms appeared on his field.

Three coins appeared on the field and shot into the air, each one now a golden blur as they flew out of sight. "Now it's time to let my Barrel Dragon's special ability do the talking for it. My dragon will flip three coins. If out of them I get two heads I may destroy one monster on your field. So if I'm successful you will be defenseless Hawk."

Each of the coins hit the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust, obscuring their features. As the dust cleared it revealed a heads, a tails and......a heads.

Daniel smiled and pointed at the face-down card. "You know the drill Barrel Dragon, clear the way!" The Barrel Dragon's cannons powered up and fired a triple blast of energy that instantly annihilated Hawk's face-down monster. "And now I attack with Jinzo, Barrel Dragon, and Machine King, whose special ability raises his attack power to 2500!" All three of Daniel's monsters powered up their attacks, but before they could fire Hawk pressed a button on his disk.

"You haven't won yet boy! I reveal my face-down magic card Enemy Controller. This will allow me to force one of your monsters on the field to defensive mode!" A video game controller appeared and the buttons on it were pressed in a combo. With a groan the Barrel Dragon was forced to its knees as it switched to defense mode. Hawk's cold grin began again as he looked over at his opponent, waiting to see that horrified look on his face.

What he hadn't expected was wild laughter. Daniel nearly fell over as he clutched his sides laughing. After a few seconds he calmed down. "Oh I'm sorry Hawk, it's just funny to watch you do stuff like that. You make it seem like thanks to that move you have survived this turn."

Daniel's smiling face suddenly turned so cold that Hawk stepped back in surprise at the sudden change in mood. "Don't take me lightly Hawk. I have one card face-down on the field and it's exactly what is needed to wipe you out. Go Limiter Removal!" As the card flipped up both Machine King and Jinzo made hissing noises, and smoke started to pour from openings in their armor. "Thanks to this card all of my machine monsters gain double attack points until the end of the turn. By my calculations, that means you are finished."

Jinzo (4800/1500)

Machine King (5000/2000)

Hawk stumbled back in fear, his hands up as if to try and ward off the monsters that were about to attack. "No! I surrender! I surrender!"

Daniel pointed right at Hawk. "Machine King attack with Rocket Punch!" The mechanical king complied, its fist flying across the field to slam into Hawk's chest and send him flying backwards. He bounced a couple of feet back and then slowly came to his feet.

Daniel- 10000

Hawk- 3000

"Now Jinzo attack with your Cyber Shock attack!"

The green armored machine cupped its hands and a ball of black energy formed between them. The ball grew larger and larger, until it was the size of a wrecking ball.

For the first time in a long while Hawk felt fear. He had seen the dead walk and as he watched the same Jinzo that had been talking just a minute earlier was now about to make him fail in his mission. He turned to run but didn't make it far as the blast from Jinzo hit him in the back and threw him to the ground.

Daniel- 10000

Hawk- 0

Daniel smiled as he felt the device attached to his arm withdraw its needle and fall off his arm. It beeped a few times and then spat out the Blowback Dragon card. Daniel grabbed it and slipped it into his deck, chuckling. "This Blowback Dragon had better win me this tournament. It almost had cost me my life." He looked over to notice that Hawk had already disappeared. ("Good, I hope I never see that jerk again.") He walked away from the hallway smiling at his success.

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Sitting in his office, he reached out and tapped a few controls on his desk. The television screen turned on and showed the recordings taken from the security cameras of the dueling arena that Hawk had gone to when he had challenged Daniel Pilkington.

_Hawk screamed in rage. "You dare to interfere with this duel!? Who are you!?"_

_Jinzo chuckled once more. "That is not for you to know puppet. Now watch as Daniel defeats you. Oh and on that note, tell your master that if he continues to bother this boy the consequences for his actions might be...quite painful."_

"So," he growled at the paused picture of the Jinzo on the television screen, "You dare to show yourself during my test hmm?" He kept his rage in check though, a smile slowly spreading across his shadowed face. "I will admit that you have some guts to mess with my tests. Looks like I may have to change my plans of attack."

He thought back on the duel itself though and chuckled. "So the boy passed the test. That hasn't happened in three years." His hand flexed and he turned around in his chair, facing the shuttered windows, his eyes an eerie red color in the light. "Looks like Daniel Pilkington will be the newest member of the Shadow Corporation family."

_To be continued..._

Original cards 

Berserker's Fury

Repair and Reinforce

Author's notes: A couple of things I wanted to bring up. First off I know I got the effect of Wild Nature's Release wrong. It only powers up one monster on the field. I did that because I thought it better that CJ won the duel against Commander. I'm still accepting character and deck ideas. Once again please review after you have read this. I'd like to know that people are reading this before I start putting up more chapters.


	5. PQ Final Four

Disclaimer- No I do not own Yugioh. I wish I did, but I don't. Why do you force me to remind myself I don't?? Runs off crying

Chapter 5- PQ Final Four

Daniel had returned to his friends but he had decided not to mention anything about Hawk or the whole almost dying thing. He doubted that they would believe him anyways. He took his seat and sighed, his thoughts going back to the events of the last hour. When had been dueling Hawk he had four magic/trap cards face-down on the field before the nanomachines had sent him into unconsciousness.

When he had awoken two of those cards had been played. If that wasn't weird enough, they had been played exactly in the order he had planned them to be too. First Monster Reborn had revived Jinzo from the graveyard, and then Repair and Reinforce had raised his life points back to above full. ("Why don't I remember activating those cards though? Who else could have done it?")

He doubted that Hawk had been behind it. It wouldn't have made any sense for Hawk to trick him into a trap meant to kill him and then save him from that same trap. He sighed and pulled his deck free of its holder in his Duel Disk. Shuffling his deck, Daniel drew five cards and as always his Jinzo was amongst them.

Not that it was ever a surprise anymore. Jinzo had been the first card he had ever pulled from a booster pack, and after he had placed it into his deck it had always appeared in his first five cards. He found it reassuring that he had such a good connection with his favorite monster. Now though, something about seeing Jinzo in front of him sent chills down his spine. ("Why is it that suddenly looking at you scares me Jinzo?")

_("Could it be because you are looking into a mirror? Could it be because you fear what I am? Could it be that you don't like what you see in that mirror?")_

("What?") Daniel glanced to both sides of him and noticed that nobody had talked to him. ("What was that about?") He normally wasn't prone to having strange voices talk to him inside his head.

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The rest of the duels passed by rather quickly, at least considering there were over 200 players in this tournament. Finally, ten hours later, the final four for the tournament had been determined.

The announcer yelled into his microphone, "Thank you for being patient ladies and gentleman. It is time for the semi-finals of the tournament!" The cheers that arose from the audience were deafening. "Our first match-up will Deondre Anderson vs. CJ Anderson! Would both players please come to the arena?"

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Up in the stands the two friends looked at each other and for the first time since the two had arrived at the arena they didn't insult each other. They simply marched down the stairs together and took their places. Everyone in the crowd had watched their antics before and they had expected something from them. Now though the two friends were silent, staring each other down.

Without even looking they clicked their duel disks into place and drew their five cards. Then without even waiting for the announcer to say begin, they started.

Deondre drew and set one monster in face-down defense mode. "End turn."

CJ drew and played a monster. "I summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode." The Minotaur monster appeared and roared. "Now I'll attack, and thanks to its special ability my Battle Ox can deal you damage even through the defense of your creature." CJ's Ox flew across the field and cut Deondre's monster in half, the pieces of the card fading instantly.

CJ- 8000

Deondre- 6900

Deondre smiled slightly and held up his creature. "It was my Sangan (1000/600). When it dies I may search my deck for one monster with 1500 or less attack points and place it into my hand." He took his deck out of his Disk and searched it, pulling a monster free from the stack and adding it to his hand. Then he shuffled his deck and put it back in his disk.

CJ nodded slightly to his friend. "End turn."

Deondre drew a card and slapped a monster down. "Say hello to my D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600) in attack mode. When she is destroyed in battle she removes herself and the other monster from play." A woman in a grey body suit carrying a laser dagger appeared on the field. "Now I'll power her up with this magic card. It's called D.D. Laser Blade. When it's equipped to a monster with D.D. in the title, the creature gains 500 attack points and whenever it destroys a monster it removes the monster from the game."

The D.D. Warrior Lady sheathed her dagger and drew a long prismatic sword. (2000/1600)

Deondre pointed to CJ's Battle Ox. "Now attack!" The Lady launched across the field and cut the Battle Ox down. The pieces of CJ's monster evaporated into mist.

CJ- 7700

Deondre- 6900

CJ grimaced and took the Battle Ox off of his disk, sliding the card into his back pocket. "You think your monster will slow me down?" He drew and played a monster. "I summon Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) in attack mode." With a howl the fire-breathing gorilla appeared on the field. "Now I'll do some powering up of my own. I play Wild Nature's Release, which adds my Gorilla's defense points to his attack total. (3000/0) Now attack my monster and bring his D.D. Warrior Lady down!"

The Gorilla screeched and charged, slamming into the Lady. As she started to fade though she grabbed onto the gorilla and in a flash of light both of them faded off the field.

CJ- 7700

Deondre- 5900

Deondre took his Warrior Lady off the disk and slid her into his back pocket, and CJ did the same with his Gorilla as the Lady's effect removed them both from the game. CJ set one card face-down and ended his turn. "Things aren't looking up for you Deondre."

Deondre drew and replied, "I'd worry more about you than me CJ."

----------------------------------------------------

Daniel watched the duel with mild interest. He knew the lack of banter between CJ and Deondre wasn't because they were taking this game seriously, but it was because they had played each other so many times in the past that this wasn't an exciting game for either of them.

_("Still, it's sad to see them so serious. It's entertaining to watch those two monkeys argue with each other.")_

Daniel wanted to ignore that voice, but it was getting on his nerves. ("Okay then Mr. Voice-in-my-head, why don't you stop throwing in random comments and speak to me?") After a few seconds passed and nothing responded to his thoughts, he growled quietly and brought his attention back to the duel.

----------------------------------------------------------

Deondre drew. "I summon Dimensional Warrior (1200/1000) in attack mode and set two cards face-down." A red-haired armor wearing swordsman appeared on the field. "Dimensional Warrior attack his life points directly!" The Warrior flew across the field and wound up to attack, but when its blade came down to hit CJ the Dimensional Warrior exploded.

CJ held up his trap. "I activated Sakuretsu Armor. This allows me to destroy one of my opponent's attacking monsters."

Deondre waved his hand dismissively. "End turn."

CJ drew and summoned. "I summon Mad Dog of Darkness in attack mode and I'll have it attack your life points!" The demon dog appeared on the field and howled, lunging across it to rip Deondre to shreds.

Deondre snorted and flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Well as always you ran into my trap. This is my D.D. Ring, which teleports your monster out of play permanently." A prismatic crystal ring appeared and circled the Mad Dog, before glowing brightly. In a flash both it and CJ's monster were gone.

CJ took his monster off his disk and put it into his back pocket alongside the slowly developing stack of monsters that had been removed from play. "I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

---------------------------------------------------

Daniel wanted to scream at the moment. Every time he let himself relax mentally and watch the duel, that voice in his head would come back and make a comment on something. It was driving him mad. ("Maybe I should go lay down or something.")

_("Poor baby, want me to give you a lullaby?")_

Daniel frowned and tried to ignore the voice by watching the duel.

------------------------------------------------------

Deondre drew and threw down a new monster. "Try this on for size. I summon D.D. Jet fighter (1600/1000) in attack mode." A golden futuristic looking fighter jet appeared and launched up into the air. "Now attack his life points!" It dove down at CJ and right before it got within firing range of him it exploded into little golden bits.

CJ held up another Sakuretsu Armor trap card that he had set and laughed. "Now who's running into traps like there is no tomorrow?"

Deondre grimaced. "End turn."

CJ drew. "I summon D.D. Crazy Beast (1400/1400) in attack mode." The red and teal googly eyed monster appeared and garbled out a roar, lunging across the field to bite Deondre on the shoulder.

CJ- 7700

Deondre- 4500

Deondre stumbled from the hit, but he quickly recovered and drew a card for his turn. "I'll show you something new. First I'll play Monster Reborn and revive my Dimensional Warrior." In a weak flash of light the Dimensional Warrior exploded from the ground and hit the field. "Now I'll sacrifice him to summon D.D. Knight! (2200/1500)" As the Dimensional Warrior disappeared he was replaced by a blond-haired man in a suit of futuristic looking knight's armor wielding a laser lance. "Attack!" The Knight flew across the field and impaled the Crazy Beast, annihilating it instantly.

CJ- 6900

Deondre- 4500

Deondre grinned smugly. "His special ability now triggers. Whenever he deals you life point damage you must remove the top three cards of your deck from the game."

CJ grimaced and complied, taking the removed cards and sliding them into his back pocket. "Are you done?"

Deondre nodded. "End turn."

-------------------------------------------------

Pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, Daniel sighed in frustration and rubbed his eyes with a hand.

Allon glanced over at him. "What's the matter with you?"

Daniel pulled his glasses off and put them in his pocket. "My eyes are irritating me."

_("All you ever do is whine, you know that right?")_

("Leave me alone!")

--------------------------------------------------

CJ drew his card and smiled. "Hey Deondre, remember when I beat Commander and I said he had given me a really rare card?" When Deondre nodded he smiled even wider. "Well here it comes! First off I summon Panther Warrior (2000/1600) in attack mode. Then I combo it with the magic card Scapegoat, creating four goat tokens on my field."

Deondre scratched the back of his head. "What's filling up your field going to do for you?"

CJ slid a card into the disk right underneath the Panther Warrior. "Nothing on its own, but when I use my new Excalibur equipment magic card, I double my Panther Warrior's attack power." With a roar the shield and sword wielding humanoid Panther appeared and then its curved sword was replaced by a shining long-sword. (4000/1600)

Deondre frowned angrily. "There has to be a downside to a card like that."

CJ shrugged. "As long as it is on the field I can't draw a card from my deck at the start of my turn, but considering the attack increase I don't need to do that. Now I sacrifice a Scapegoat to my Panther Warrior so it can attack and destroy your D.D. Knight!"

The Panther Warrior struck its new sword into the ground and a wave of energy rolled across the field. When the wave struck the D.D. Knight, he screamed for a moment before being blown to dust.

CJ- 6900

Deondre- 2700

CJ waved his hand dismissively at Deondre. "Give it up Deondre. The life point totals are too different for you to be able to beat me."

Deondre drew a card and smiled. "Don't be so sure CJ. I set one monster in defense and two cards face-down, end turn."

As per the effects of Excalibur, CJ didn't draw a card. Instead he slid a card into his Duel Disk next to where Excalibur was. "Now I'll equip my Panther Warrior with the equipment magic card Fairy Meteor Crush. This allows my monster to deal damage through defense like my Enraged Battle Ox was able to do. So I'll sacrifice another goat token to give my Panther the power to attack your face-down monster!"

The Panther slammed its sword into the ground again and the wave of energy split Deondre's monster in half. As it did though the Panther Warrior's body faded away.

Deondre held up his monster card. "You remember what my D.D. Warrior Lady does, right?" CJ growled as they both slid their respective monsters into their back pocket.

CJ- 6900

Deondre- 300

CJ looked at the last card in his hand and set it in defense mode. "End turn."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel had already left the stands and had gone to bathroom, sighing as he stared at himself in the mirror. His glasses were in his pocket and yet right now he could see himself perfectly in the mirror. Every detail of his face was easily detected.

_("Why are you so worried about suddenly having 20/20 vision?")_

Daniel didn't even have the will to argue anymore. He just ignored the voice and grimaced. His vision suddenly becoming perfect wasn't a bad thing on its own, but what did it mean? Why had it happened? He splashed some water on his face and went back to his seat. He knew he was in the next match, so he didn't have time to try and figure this out.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Deondre drew and he smirked. "First off I'll summon D.D. Lancer (1500/1000) in attack mode. His special ability lets him deal damage through defense like your Enraged Battle Ox." A pike wielding red-haired man in armor appeared on his field. "Then I reveal my face-down trap card, Return from a Different Dimension. At the cost of half of my life points I am allowed special summon as many monsters from the removed from play pile as I can. Since it doesn't specify who's removed from play pile I may choose from, I pick yours."

CJ- 6900

Deondre- 150

CJ gaped in surprise as his Enraged Battle Ox, his Berserk Gorilla, his Mad Dog of Darkness and his Panther Warrior appeared on Deondre's field.

Deondre grinned and flipped his next face-down card. "Now my Nobleman of Cross-out will remove your face-down monster from the game." A man in shining armor leaped across the field and slashed a sword across the face-down card, the monster fading to the removed from play pile.

"It's over CJ. Your Enraged Battle Ox transfers its defense shattering ability to all beast and beast-warrior monsters on my field. That means that every creature on my field can deal damage through defense. Since your goats have zero defense and attack points, I win." Deondre pointed over at CJ. Berserk Gorilla and D.D. Lancer attack his two goats!" The two monsters shot across the field and tore through CJ's goat defense.

CJ- 3400

Deondre- 150

CJ braced himself, he knew what came next. ("I guess it wasn't fate for me to win this tournament.")

Deondre waved his hand to the Mad Dog and Enraged Battle Ox. "Finish it." They flew across the field and slammed into CJ, sending him careening to the ground.

CJ- 0

Deondre- 150

-------------------------------------------------------

As the crowd broke into cheers and applause, Daniel walked back to the stands. ("It's my turn next. I can't lose this duel.") He shuffled his deck and tried to ignore how perfectly he could see everything now thanks to his new 20/20 vision. ("Here we go.") He started walking down the stairs and went to the side-lines of the arena to wait for his duel to be announced. Despite the bad things that had happened to him though, he couldn't help but smile as he watched CJ chase Deondre out of the arena, the bigger dark-skinned man screaming death threats at his friend. ("Some things will never change.")

_("They're a pair of hopeless fools.")_

For once today, Daniel agreed with the voice.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: In fear of a card

Author's notes: I told myself that I wasn't going to type anymore today, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop myself. I'm hopeless. Oh well, please post a review if you can. I'll accept anonymous ones too.


	6. In fear of a card

Chapter 6- In fear of a card

The announcer looked his sheet of paper over and yelled, "Will Daniel Pilkington and Tiamat please come to the arena?"

Daniel was already in the ring, so now he just needed wait for his opponent. Unfortunately he didn't know anything about Tiamat, though by the name he assumed he would be facing a dragon deck.

A woman dressed in an ornate suit of armor that made her resemble a humanoid version of the famous Blue-eyes White Dragon sauntered down into the ring. While Daniel couldn't see her face very well thanks to her armor, he could see her figure. ("And what a pleasant figure it is.") He couldn't help but whistle slightly as he looked over her tall and shapely frame.

She snorted derisively at his reaction to her and said, "So you are Daniel Pilkington? I expected a more impressive specimen."

Daniel blushed fiercely at that, his cheeks burning red. "Hey!"

_("Quite the ladies man, aren't you?")_

("SHUT UP!")

Daniel had just gone from embarrassed straight into angry. "I'll show you impressive. Just watch as my machines tear your dragons to shreds!" His duel disk clicked into place and his life point counter lit up.

She snorted haughtily, in a way that reminded Daniel of how Commander had talked to CJ before. "I very much doubt that you are going to be able to touch my life points, much less take out my best dragons." Her duel disk clicked into place as well.

The announcer yelled into his microphone, "Begin the duel!"

Daniel drew his five card hand and then his sixth card. He shuffled his hand around to see if any combos leapt out at him. Every time he looked upon the Jinzo card in his hand though he felt his blood run cold and shivers run up and down his spine. He didn't know what was causing this fear of his favorite card, but he shook his head to clear it. He was in the middle of a duel. ("Not now....not now....") He slapped down a monster. "Try this. I summon Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in attack mode." A machine monster made of mirrors appeared on the field before him. "Now I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Tiamat drew and set a monster face-down. "End turn."

Daniel drew and slid his Reflect Bounder into the graveyard slot on his disk. ("Time to get you where you belong Jinzo.")

"I summon Jinzo!" Nothing happened.

"Err....I summon Jinzo." Still nothing happened.

Daniel grimaced and slid Jinzo into the graveyard. He had just wasted his summon and now his favorite card was in the graveyard, plus he had no monsters on the field to defend him. ("I'm not beaten yet.") "End turn."

Tiamat cackled from underneath her helmet. "Having problems with your machines little boy? Let me end this so you can go and take them in for a tune-up. I flip up my face-down monster card Luster Dragon (1900/1700) into attack mode." A large dragon appeared that was covered in a hard cover of sapphires.

She pulled a card from her hand and slid it into her disk. "Now I activate the magic card Stamping Destruction. This will destroy one face-down magic/trap card on the field and deal you 500 life points of damage." The Luster Dragon screeched and flew over to Daniel's field, shattering on his face-down cards with a tackle.

Daniel- 7500

Tiamat- 8000

Daniel growled and slid his Negate Attack trap into the graveyard. ("Not good. That was my defense card.")

Tiamat daintily played another monster on her field. "I summon another Luster Dragon in attack mode." Another sapphire dragon joined the first and both dragons screeched at Daniel. "Now I order them both to attack!" The two dragons flew across the field and slammed right into Daniel, knocking him off his feet.

Daniel- 3700

Tiamat- 8000

------------------------------------

CJ and Deondre were already in their seats, both of them sporting quite a few painful bruises from their fight.

Deondre scratched at his chin as he looked at Daniel's field. "Is it just me or did Daniel somehow not successfully summon Jinzo?"

Allon, Janeam and CJ all nodded.

Deondre sighed in confusion. "That's not supposed to happen. You can't fail at summoning a monster in this game."

CJ grimaced. "Well whether we accept it or not doesn't matter. He couldn't summon Jinzo and that's all there is to it."

--------------------------------------

Slowly pulling himself back to his feet, Daniel drew his next card. "I'll get you back for that one." He frowned at his hand. ("Big talk but can I back it up. I'm holding nothing tough enough to hurt those dragons of hers.")

_("Your other face-down?")_

Daniel slapped himself in the head and whispered, "Duh." ("Wait, did I just get help from the voice in my head?")

He realized now was not the time to argue against clever advice. "Alright. I reveal my face-down card, Rise of the Machines! This will allow me to summon one machine monster from my graveyard for every turn I have spent not attacking you. Since it has only been one turn since Rise of the Machines has been out, I now revive Jinzo!" Just like before when he tried to summon Jinzo, nothing happened. ("Damn it,")

"I choose to revive Reflect Bounder instead!" The mirror monster reappeared on the field. "Next I'll set one card face-down and play the magic card Machine Conversion Facility, raising Reflect Bounder's attack points by 300. (2000/1300) "Reflect Bounder will attack one of your dragons!" Reflect Bounder gathered energy around its mirrors and fired a blast of light across the field, consuming one of Tiamat's Luster Dragons.

Daniel- 3700

Tiamat- 7900

Daniel frowned down at his graveyard and the dead card that sat in it. "End turn."

Tiamat drew and cackled once more. "Prepare to lose boy. I summon Lord of Dragons (1200/1000) in attack mode." A man in dragon bone armor appeared on the field next to the Luster Dragon. "Now I play Flute of Summoning Dragons. This card will allow me to summon two dragons from my hand to the field!" A golden flute shaped like a dragon's head floated down and landed into the Lord of Dragons hands. He blew into it and she threw two monsters onto her duel disk. "Now I shall call upon my Luster Dragon #2 (2400/1400) and my most powerful beast, Tyrant Dragon! (2900/2300)" A huge dragon covered in emerald armoring appeared on one end of her field, and an even bigger dragon with brown scales appeared on the other side of her field. They both roared and the sheer force of their cries nearly threw Daniel off his feet.

Tiamat laughed haughtily and pointed at Daniel. "Now Tyrant Dragon attack his Reflect Bounder!" The enormous brown dragon released a burst of flames at Daniel's mirror monster.

Daniel smiled. "Bad move! I reveal my face-down magic card, Limiter Removal! It'll double the attack power of my Reflect Bounder. (4000/1300) And thanks to his special ability you take your monsters attack points in damage anyway, so therefore you just lost 4000 life points!" Reflect Bounder caught the flames and bounced them back at the Tyrant Dragon, destroying it instantly.

Daniel- 3700

Tiamat- 4000

Tiamat set one card face-down. "End turn."

Daniel drew and watched as his over-loaded Reflect Bounder exploded, leaving his field empty.

Tiamat decided to rub in her current advantage. "So what can you do with the two cards in your hand?"

Daniel bit his lower lip. He knew there was a way to win, but it required he summoned Jinzo. Considering how successful his last two attempts had been at summoning his favorite monster, he wasn't sure he could do it.

He had to ask himself the big question though, ("Why?")

Why was Jinzo not summoning itself? It could be something wrong with the duel disk, but Daniel knew better than to think that. It had handled every other card fine up until he tried to summon Jinzo. He sighed and took a deep breath. ("Jinzo, whatever I have done to offend you, forgive me.") "Prepare to meet defeat Tiamat! First I'll play Monster Reborn and attempt to revive Jinzo from the card graveyard!"

At first nothing happened, but then ever so slowly Jinzo (2400/1500) started to materialize on Daniel's field. Crossing its metal arms across his chest, Jinzo looked to its master for orders.

Daniel felt the stress of not having his favorite monster to back him up fade away. "Thank you Jinzo," he whispered.

"Can we please get on with this!?" Screamed Tiamat.

Daniel smiled and slid his other card into his duel disk. "In a hurry to lose? Fine with me. I set one card face-down on the field and I'll have Jinzo attack your Lord of Dragons." Jinzo built up the energy for its attack and released a pulsing ball of darkness that consumed the Lord of Dragons.

Daniel- 3700

Tiamat- 2800

Daniel smiled and took a deep breath, feeling better by the second now that his favorite monster was back. "End turn."

Tiamat drew. "I'll suicide my Luster Dragon #2 into your Jinzo!" The emerald encrusted dragon shot across the field and slammed into Jinzo, both monsters disappearing in a flash of flame.

Tiamat cackled once more. "Now my Luster Dragon will attack your life points! So much for your little Jinzo!" The Luster Dragon screeched and went into a dive right at Daniel.

Smiling, Daniel pressed a button on his duel disk. "Wrong move. Since you have declared your attack I will trigger my trap card. Reveal Call of the Haunted. This trap card allows me to revive one monster from my graveyard in attack mode. I'll give you one guess who I'll revive."

Tiamat gasped. "Oh no!"

Daniel chuckled as the Luster Dragon was destroyed by a blast of darkness energy from under the earth. Then slowly Jinzo rose up from the ground, chuckling.

Daniel- 3700

Tiamat- 2300

Tiamat looked at Jinzo and then looked at her hand. She sighed sadly. "I...have no monsters in my hand that I can summon. And since your Jinzo negates all trap cards the other cards in my hand won't help me either. I surrender."

The field flickered and then faded, with Daniel giving Jinzo one more thankful look. He removed the Jinzo card from his disk and smiled at it. "We're a team then?" He already knew the answer.

Shuffling his cards together he walked over and smirked at Tiamat. "Wanna insult my machines again?"

Tiamat bowed her head. "My apologies for under-estimating your skill. Farewell." She turned and sauntered off, in almost the same way she arrived.

Daniel looked up at the stands and nodded slightly to Deondre, who nodded back. "You and me then Deondre! The winner gets the pack and bragging rights!"

Deondre walked slowly down the stairs and nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

The two faced off from each other and their duel disks clicked into place. They both smiled as they drew their five. For a moment silence reigned over the field, and then finally both duelists broke it with a cry of, "LET'S DUEL!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The end of the PQ tournament

Author's notes: Just wanted to thank everyone who has been reading this little old fanfiction of mine. On that note, I'm going to need a whole lot of characters for the Shadow Corporation tournament. So please if you have a character who is a duelist in mind please let me know about them! The tournament itself will be over 200 players in the beginning.


	7. The End of the PQ Tournament

Disclaimer- I don't own Yugioh or anything that has to do with Yugioh. The only things I own are this fic and my original cards.

Chapter 7: The end of the PQ Tournament  
_The two faced off from each other and their duel disks clicked into place. They both smiled as they drew their five. For a moment silence reigned over the field, and then finally both duelists broke it with a cry of, "LET'S DUEL!"_

Deondre drew. "I'll get us started with a monster in face-down defense mode. End turn."

Daniel chuckled as he drew. "You always were a defensive player Deondre. Well I'll fall for it. I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode." A blue and yellow robot appeared on Daniel's field. "X-Head Cannon attack!"

The machine fired laser blasts from its shoulder cannons, but when they hit the face-down monster and destroyed it the X-Head Cannon itself faded off the field.

Deondre held up his face-down monster. "That was my D.D. Warrior Lady. (1500/1600) When she is destroyed in battle she removes herself from the game and takes the opposing monster with her."

Daniel nodded solemnly and picked up his X-Head Cannon, depositing it in his jeans pocket. "End turn."

------------------------------------------------

CJ glanced over at Janeam. "Who do you have money on winning?"

Janeam thought about it. "It's Gotta be Deondre. All of his removal stuff will make it hard for Daniel to use the recursion combos that always tend to save him during his duels."

Allon thought about it too. "I'm going to bet on Daniel winning. His machine combos don't all rely on recursion to work. Who do you think is going to win CJ?"

CJ pointed down at the arena. "My friend will win." With that ambiguous answer hanging in the air, everyone looked down to the arena.

--------------------------------------------------

Deondre drew his card and threw down a monster. "I summon D.D. Lancer (1500/1000) in attack mode. Now attack!" His Lancer charged across the field and drove his pike into Daniel's chest, sending him stumbling back.

Deondre- 8000

Daniel- 6500

Deondre nodded to his friend. "End turn."

Daniel drew. "I was hoping that you would summon a monster Deondre. That makes it easy for me to play my magic card Brain Control." A floating brain appeared on the field and sent out a pulse of energy. The D.D. Lancer shuddered and then floated over to Daniel's side of the field.

Sliding Deondre's D.D. Lancer into his graveyard, Daniel slapped a new monster down onto the field. "You've known me long enough to know who this is Deondre. I summon Jinzo (2400/1500) to the field in attack mode." With a metal howl the green armored humanoid robot that was Daniel's favorite creature appeared on the field, its arms crossed.

"Now Jinzo, attack his life points directly!" Cupping his hands together, Jinzo formed a pulsing ball of black energy between them and then launched the ball across the field at Deondre. It struck him hard in the chest and threw him backwards.

Deondre- 5600

Daniel- 6500

As he watched Deondre get back on his feet Daniel saluted his friend, Jinzo mirroring the movement his master made. "End turn."

Deondre drew and smirked. "I set one monster in defense mode and two cards face-down on my field. End turn."

Daniel drew and slapped a monster down on his field next to his Jinzo. "Well I summon Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in attack mode." A monster made entirely of mirrors appeared on the field next to Jinzo. "Now Reflect Bounder, attack Deondre's face-down monster card!"

The mirror monster charged up a beam and fired it. When the smoke cleared though Daniel grimaced at what Deondre was holding up. "Another D.D. Warrior Lady. That means that Reflect Bounder gets removed from the game." He sighed and picked his Reflect Bounder up off of his duel disk, sliding it into his back pant's pocket alongside his X-Head Cannon. "Alright then Jinzo, avenge the Reflect Bounder's demise with your Cyber Shock attack!" Jinzo formed the energy ball from before and then launched it. For the second time in this duel Deondre found himself back-first on the floor of the arena.

Deondre- 3200

Daniel- 6500

Daniel set two cards face-down on his field. "End turn."

Deondre climbed to his feet and drew. "I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards from the top of my deck." He pulled his two new cards and added them to his hand. Checking over his combos he smiled. "Alright then Daniel, first off I play one of the newest additions to my cards. Go Heavy Storm! This magic card will destroy all magic and trap cards on the field." He pulled his two face-down cards out of his duel disk and Daniel did the same. While Daniel slid his two cards into his graveyard slot though, Deondre held his up for Daniel to see.

"Sorry man, but these two traps will make things harder for you. The first one is Blast with Chain. When it is destroyed it allows me to destroy one card on the field. So I'll choose your Jinzo." Jinzo howled in anger at the audacity of being destroyed by a trap card and then it was blown to pieces.

Daniel frowned but complied, sliding his Jinzo into the graveyard along with his other two cards.

Deondre held up his other face-down. "This one is Dark Coffin. When it is destroyed then you must discard one card from your hand."

Daniel frown got deeper. "I'll discard my Z-Metal Tank then." He looked his last two cards over and sighed. "Are you going to do anything else Deondre?"

Deondre nodded. "I'm going to summon another D.D. Lancer and have it attack your life points." The pike-wielding monster lunged across the field and struck Daniel once more.

Deondre- 3200

Daniel- 5000

Deondre then set two new cards face-down. "End turn."

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CJ winced in sympathy for Daniel's plight. "He's going to have only three cards to work with now. That's harsh considering that Deondre has the advantage."

Allon shrugged. "It's not over yet. Daniel still has plenty of chances left to win this duel."

--------------------------------------------------------

Daniel drew and smiled. "I'm not a dead man yet Deondre. I'll use my Monster Reborn to revive Jinzo from the graveyard in attack mode." He slapped another monster down. "Now I summon Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600) in attack mode!" A red mechanical dragon appeared next to Jinzo.

"And now Jinzo will make short work of your D.D. Lancer!" Jinzo built up the energy for his attack and released it, blowing the pike wielding monster on Deondre's side of the field to dust.

Deondre- 2400

Daniel- 5000

"Now Y-Dragon Head attack his life points directly!" The monster opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of electrical power that engulfed Deondre. When it cleared he shook his head clear.

Deondre- 900

Daniel- 5000

"Wow that really cleared my sinuses." Deondre joked.

Daniel chuckled at that. "End turn."

Deondre drew and flipped one of his face-down cards. "I didn't want to have to use this on your Daniel, but I reveal my Stain Storm!"

Daniel's eyes went wide in confusion. "What's that do?"

Deondre held it up for Daniel to see. "It will destroy all face-up machine sub-type monsters on the field, meaning you are defenseless once more."

Daniel gasped as his Jinzo and Y-Dragon Head slowly turned brown, and then both of them at once broke apart into flakes of rust. "I see. A powerful counter for my deck." He smiled weakly. "Good job Deondre."

Deondre frowned guiltily. "I wouldn't thank me yet. I reveal my other face-down card Soul Release, which allows me to remove up to five monsters from any graveyard. I choose to remove your Jinzo, Y-Dragon Head and your Z-Metal Tank."

Daniel sighed and nodded, removing the monsters from his graveyard and sliding them into his back pocket to join their brethren in the remove from play pile.

Deondre placed a monster down. "Now I'll summon Dimensional Warrior (1200/1000) in attack mode." The red-haired form of Dimensional Warrior appeared and he drew his sword, glaring at Daniel.

Deondre slid the last card he had underneath his Warrior on the duel disk. "I'll combo it with D.D. Laser Sword, which raises Dimensional Warrior's attack power and gives him the ability to remove any monster he destroys from the game."

The Dimensional Warrior snapped around its new prismatic laser blade, and then grinned at Daniel. (1700/1000)

Deondre pointed at Daniel. "Dimensional Warrior attack!" The Warrior flew across the field and slashed Daniel on the shoulder.

Deondre- 900

Daniel- 3300

Daniel knew that Deondre didn't have any other moves, so he drew. ("Useless. Call of the Haunted could bring back a monster from the graveyard, but I don't have any monsters left in there. And the other card in my hand requires two tributes to summon.")

"I set one card face-down in the magic/trap zone and end my turn. Make your move Deondre."

Deondre drew and smiled longingly. "Hey Daniel, remember what we discussed last night while we worked on your deck?"

Daniel laughed happily and nodded. "I remember. We made a pact not to be angry with each other if we dueled."

Deondre's smile wilted slightly. "Sorry Daniel but I hope you keep your promise, because I summon the last D.D. Warrior Lady in my Deck." The blond-haired dimensional hopper appeared next to the Dimensional Warrior and the two raised their weapons to strike Daniel. "Attack!" They flew across the field and as a team struck Daniel on both arms with their weapons.

Deondre- 900

Daniel- 100

Daniel took a deep breath and drew his last card in this duel. "It's time to turn the tables. I play the magic card Graceful Charity. This allows me to draw three cards and then discard two." He drew three, looked his hand over and then discarded two of the cards in his hand to the graveyard. "Now I set one card face-down and one monster in defense mode. End turn."

Deondre drew and looked over at Daniel. "Still have some fight left in you buddy?"

Daniel shrugged. "Why wouldn't I? I'm not beaten yet."

Deondre slid his new card into his disk. "I beg to differ. This magic card will end our game. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, which will destroy your face-down card." A sharp wind picked up and shattered Daniel's face-down card.

Daniel looked at his face-down card and sighed weakly, eyes to the ground.

Deondre wouldn't let his feelings get in the way of his win. "D.D. Warrior Lady attack!" The Lady flew across the field and slammed into the monster, slashing it to pieces.

"Now I'll follow-up with an attack from Dimensional Warrior. Sorry Daniel." The red-haired warrior flew across the field and in one slash to Daniel's body the duel was over.

Deondre- 900

Daniel- 0

Daniel smiled and nodded. "I'm glad I made it as far as I did. I'll see you on the plane for the tournament in three weeks Deondre." He started to walk off but felt Deondre's hand grab his arm.

"Hold up there Daniel." He whistled up at the announcer. "Bring me my prize!"

The announcer ran down the stairs and handed Deondre the pack of Supreme Duelist Series cards.

Deondre tore it open and without looking at them shuffled the five cards. Then he fanned them out and extended the fan to Daniel. "Pick one."

Daniel wasn't going to argue with his friend. He reached over and grasped the middle card. Pulling it free, he didn't even bother to look at it. He slid it into his deck and chuckled. "I would never think you would be so kind-hearted. Does that mean you'll be giving CJ a card too?"

Deondre snorted. "Maybe when the blockhead develops a brain I just might. That won't be happening for a long while though, so I guess not." He looked up at the stands and smirked at the look on CJ's face after hearing that. ("I guess I've got another fight with him.")

Daniel gave his customary half-hearted salute to Deondre and then went up the stairs, saluting his friends too. He had been here at the tournament for over 14 hours, and all he wanted to do now was get some sleep.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Preparations (Part 1)

Author's Notes: So how am I doing so far? Is there anything that I missing when I do my duels? Or maybe a lack of description about the characters or something? Review so I can fix it. If nothing is wrong, review anyway. See ya soon.


	8. Preparations Part 1

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh or anything that has to do with Yugioh. All I own is this story and any cards I create for this story.

Demon Duelist Legacy Chapter 8: Preparations (Part 1)

Daniel banged his head against the front door of his house again. "Somebody...open...the...door!" He couldn't believe that he had forgotten his house key. ("Please let Rebecca be here.")

After what seemed like hours later, the door finally opened and his sister smiled cheerfully to him from inside the entryway of the house. "Hey there big brother, how was the tournament? Did you win?"

Daniel considered yelling at her as a way to relieve the stress of losing, but one look into her cheerful blue eyes and he sighed dejectedly. ("It would be like yelling a dog for greeting me at the door.") He gently shoved past her and trudged into the house, forcing himself to make the walk up the stairs. When he got to his room he slammed the door, dropped his backpack and duel disk on the ground, and collapsed in his bed.

Rebecca, who was still downstairs in the entry, blinked in confusion. "So you didn't win?" She yelled up after him.

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_Daniel was standing on a dock. The sea crashed around him and he was looking out at the ocean. He was wearing a strange black and silver bodysuit that glimmered in the light of the slowly rising sun off in the distance. _

"_You're here," a familiar female voice said from behind him._

_He spun around to find himself face to face with a tall and beautiful brown haired woman. She was wearing a red sweater and a pair of grey sweat pants. Even through the loose clothes she was wearing Daniel could tell that she was an athlete. She walked up to him slowly and she smiled. _

_("What's going on?") Daniel wanted to scratch the back of his head, but he wasn't in control of his body at the moment. "Of course I am. I could never turn down a request from my mate," Daniel's body said. _

_Truth be told that when it came to love Daniel was not just clueless, but he was also deathly afraid of women. ("So why did I just call a complete stranger my mate!?") He tried will all of his might to force himself to run from this terrifying (for him) situation, but his body wouldn't respond to his commands._

_The woman smiled and drew Daniel's body into a tight hug, nearly crushing the breath out of him. "I'm so glad."_

_He could feel her figure press against his body and whoever was in control of his body seemed unaffected by the close contact with the woman, though if Daniel had been in control of his body he would have thought now would be a nice time to pass out. _

_She lifted her head up a little and brought him into a deep kiss. Daniel felt like his head was going to explode. He couldn't control his body but he could feel the kiss and that was enough for his brain to overload. _

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_("I'd advise you to wake up. Your sister is about to spill coffee all over you.")_

Daniel's eyes snapped open just in time to see his sister upend the contents of a scalding hot cup of coffee over his face. He leapt up from his bed and screamed at the sudden burning heat on his skin. "What was that for!?"

Rebecca looked at him innocently. "You were tossing and turning so much it looked like you were having a nightmare. Then your cheeks turned bright red and your nose started to bleed. I thought that maybe you were having some kind of heart attack. I needed to wake you up."

Daniel screamed, "YOU COULD HAVE WOKEN ME UP SOME OTHER WAY BESIDES BURNING ME!!!"

She shrugged, her blond streaked brown hair bouncing slightly. "I was just trying to help you bro."

Daniel took a deep breath and reminded him that he was the responsible adult in the house while his father was gone on his business trip. He coughed slightly and tried to gather himself up enough to look dignified, though the fact he was now tinted brown from the coffee made him look too funny to take seriously. "Very well sister. I'll forgive you this time. Next time though think before you act." He walked out of the room and headed for the shower, muttering curses to the gods for giving him a sister who could physically injure him and get away with it.

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As he rubbed some shampoo into his hair, Daniel's thoughts wandered back into what had happened during his dream. It had seemed so real. Yet he knew for a fact that if he had been in control of his body that woman wouldn't have had a chance to kiss him. He'd be out cold by just from the hug she had given him. ("So that means someone else was in control of my body, but whom though?")

_("Do you always overanalyze everything?")_

Eyes closed, Daniel sighed as he felt the hot water wash his hair clean of the coffee that had dried it into knotted clumps. "I was wondering when you would return," he said out loud to the voice in his head that had appeared during the tournament yesterday.

_("Did you think I'd disappear?")_

Daniel's eyes snapped open. "You just responded to me. You mean you could hear me this whole time yesterday?"

_("Of course I could.")_

Daniel decided that if he was going to be crazy, he may as well get to know the voice in his head. "Then why didn't you ever answer me before when I addressed you?"

_("I didn't wish to foolish boy. Are you so spoiled as to think that I have to answer when you speak to me?")_

Growling quietly, Daniel wished he had the power to throttle the snide voice at the moment. "So you make me think that I am losing my mind, and then when you finally start talking to me you insult me by calling me spoiled?"

_("Am I lying?")_

Daniel growled much louder now, very much wishing the owner of the voice was right in front of him. ".........."

_("Like I thought. You have no control over your temper.")_

Daniel slammed his fist into the tiled wall, wincing in pain as his knuckles started to throb. "Stop judging me! Go away!"

_("Very well then you big baby. Farewell.")_

The voice faded and left Daniel standing the shower with a throbbing hand and a lot of questions on his mind now.

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"Are you sure you are okay Daniel? I heard you yelling at someone in the shower." Rebecca poked her eggs with her fork absent-mindedly. Ever since her brother had woken up in the morning he had seemed upset about something.

"I told that I was just talking to myself. I've got a lot of things on my mind right now and I needed to vent." He took a sip of his glass of milk and smiled sadly. "I'll handle my own problems Rebecca. You don't need to worry about me."

Rebecca pouted and stood up out of her chair, tugging his ear sharply. "Oh no you don't! You're not going to sulk today. Remember that you promised you would take me to the mall?"

Daniel slipped out of her tug and rubbed his ear gingerly. "Fine. Go get ready and we'll go." He went up to his room and snatched up his duel disk from the pile of clothes he had dropped it in. Stuffing the device into his backpack, he threw it on and went down in the entryway to wait for her.

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Daniel stumbled, barely managing to stop himself from dropping the newest bag of clothing his sister had given him to hold. So far he now had bags draped all over his body, and from the way his sister kept going into new stores, he knew he would be carrying a lot more bags soon. ("Why did I even bother to come? I'm just her pack mule today.")

"Come on Daniel hurry up!" Rebecca had already gone into a new store and he swore he could see smoke coming off of her credit card.

Sighing, Daniel collapsed in a heap on a bench and shrugged off all of the bags. ("I'm done. I need a nap.") He closed his eyes and tried to get some much-needed rest.

His sister's scream of anger brought him back to consciousness. Standing and shouldering all of the bags again, he ran a little ways down the mall and then charged into the store he had heard the scream from. It was a game shop.

Daniel ran in to see his sister glaring at a tall man in a white coat who was holding a pack of cards in his hand out of her reach.

"For the last time kid, this is my pack of cards not yours." He narrowed his blue eyes at Rebecca and stepped back when she took a swing at his head with her fist.

Daniel sighed and tossed all of the bags off to the side. "Rebecca why are you bothering random people in the shops?" Something about the man she was bothering disturbed Daniel though. He had seen this man from somewhere, but he wasn't sure where.

Rebecca screeched, "That's the last pack from the Angel's Fury set this store has! I was looking at it and this jerk just grabbed it out of my hands. I was gonna buy it too!"

The man smiled coldly and brushed his brown bangs back. "I'll make you a deal little girl. We'll have a duel and the winner of it gets the rights to the pack?"

Rebecca nodded and walked over to Daniel. "Give me your duel disk."

Daniel rolled his eyes and unzipped his backpack. He took out his disk, removed his deck from it and then handed it to her. "Don't break it. I'm going to need it in a couple of weeks."

She ignored her brother's comment and pulled her deck out of her pocket, inserting it into the disk and sliding the device onto her arm. It clicked into place and she nodded at the man. "Let's duel."

The man shook his head condescendingly at her and his duel disk clicked into place. "You're going to regret this little girl. Let's take our game outside." She nodded and the two of them marched outside the store and took their position from each other in front of the store.

Daniel meanwhile scratched at his chin and observed the man his sister was about to duel. ("Where have I seen you before?")

Rebecca drew her five cards and then her sixth. "Ladies first. I summon Warrior of Zera (1600/1600) in attack mode." A green-helmeted man appeared on her field and readied his sword. "I'll set two cards face-down on my field and end my turn."

The man casually drew his five cards and then his sixth. "First I'll play Heavy Storm to blow all magic and traps off the field." A strong wind hit the field and Rebecca's face-down cards were destroyed. "Now I'll summon Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) in attack mode." A blue armored monster with a staff appeared on the man's field. "Now Kaiser Seahorse attack her Warrior of Zera." The Kaiser flew across the field and cut Rebecca's monster down instantly.

Rebecca- 7900

Man- 8000

The man chuckled mirthlessly at the angry expression on Rebecca's face. "Don't take it too hard. I set two cards face-down and I end my turn."

Rebecca drew and smiled slightly. "I'll avenge my lost monster by playing Monster Reborn to revive it from the graveyard. Then I will sacrifice Warrior of Zera to summon the Agent of Judgment, Saturn! (2400/0)" A beautiful purple-skinned angel appeared on the field and snapped her wings out to her sides. She bowed to Rebecca, and then turned to stare down the man. He didn't look impressed.

"That's it? How sad. I'll save you the trouble of getting your hopes up by triggering my Ring of Destruction trap card right now. That will destroy your monster and drain its attack points from both of our life-points." His cold smile got even colder. "Well it would except for the fact that I trigger my other face-down card Barrel behind the Door, which deals effect damage that I would take to you this turn."

A metal ring with grenades on it appeared on the field around Saturn's neck and exploded. Then as the smoke cleared an ancient golden gun appeared and fired a blast at Rebecca. Both blasts had enough force behind them to send her to her knees.

Rebecca- 3100

Man- 8000

Rebecca slowly came to her feet. "End...turn."

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Daniel growled from his spot at the front of the gathered crowd. He knew that the duel disks were meant to make people feel pain, but the way his sister was stumbling now made him frown. ("This guy must have the pain infliction system of his duel disk turned up. But how could he do that?")

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The man drew and chuckled. "Do us all a favor and surrender. You're a waste of my time girl." He didn't wait for her response. "I use the special ability of my Kaiser Seahorse to treat it as two tributes when sacrificed for a light attribute monster. So now I shall summon forth my ultimate beast...."

Daniel's blood ran cold. He just realized who this guy was. "Rebecca surrender the duel right now!"

Rebecca ignored him, watching her opponent intently.

The man slapped his new monster down on his disk. "I summon forth the Blue eyes White Dragon!" (3000/2500) An enormous white scaled dragon appeared and roared at Rebecca, its teeth inches from her face. The sheer force of its scream has her covering her ears in pain.

Daniel was doing the same thing as Rebecca was, but he was trying to figure out why someone as powerful and important as Seto Kaiba was here in the first place. ("Why would he come all the way from Japan to America? It couldn't just be to get a pack of cards.")

Rebecca stumbled back as the Blue eyes White Dragon roared at her again. Kaiba waved at her gently. "Farewell annoyance. Blue-eyes White Dragon attack with Burst Stream!"

The Dragon built up a huge blast of energy in its jaws and unleashed it. It engulfed Rebecca and shook the entire mall, the windows of every building shattering instantly and spraying glass everywhere.

Rebecca- 100

Kaiba- 8000

As the smoke from the Dragon's Burst Stream attack cleared it showed that Rebecca had been knocked unconscious from the sheer force of the blast.

Kaiba chuckled. "I guess since she can't duel I win, correct?" He had directed the question at Daniel, mostly because he knew that the red-haired boy and this annoyance of a girl were related somehow.

Daniel didn't hear him. He was too busy thinking of ways to kill Kaiba slowly and painfully for hurting his sister. "You....you...." A cold rage built up within him, and he walked over to Rebecca's prone form. Picking her up and laying her down off to the side of the playing field, he took the disk off of her arm. Sliding it on, he walked over slowly and stood where she had been standing before. He reached down and picked up her scattered hand of cards, eyes unblinking.

"I will finish the duel for her Seto Kaiba." Daniel said each word with venom, his stance strangely calm considering his sister could have been killed from the force of that direct attack. His brown eyes stared into Kaiba's own blue ones, and he could see the cold mind of the demon that was Seto Kaiba at work. Those eyes showed that Kaiba was as ruthless as his dragon when it came to getting what he wanted. It didn't matter who was in his way. ("Normally I wouldn't have a problem with it, but my sister was one of the people you ran over. Now I have to make you pay.")

Kaiba shrugged casually. "As you wish. If you really want to feel pain then who am I to stop you? By the way, I end my turn."

Daniel- 100

Kaiba- 8000

Daniel drew from his sister's deck and looked at the four cards he was holding. "I set one monster in face-down defense mode and two cards face-down on the field, end turn."

Kaiba drew lazily and slid a card into his disk. "I summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode." A horrible looking monster wielding a cruel sword appeared and roared, licking his fangs at Daniel.

Daniel licked his lips right back at it. "I'm not going to fall for any scare tactics Kaiba."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, going from relaxed to focused instantly. "Then let me show you that I have been holding back! I trigger the magic card Nobleman of Crossout to remove your face-down monster from the game." A man in silver armor appeared over Daniel's monster and in one slash Daniel had no monsters defending him.

Daniel narrowed his eyes, almost mirroring Kaiba. "Don't take me lightly. I'm not as easy to beat as you think."

Kaiba snorted and pointed at Daniel. "We shall see. Blue-eyes White Dragon attack with your Burst Stream!" The enormous dragon roared again and powered up its blast. "Now die you insolent fool!" The dragon released its attack in one lump of energy, the explosion even bigger than before. This time the very structure around the dueling area was cracked and damaged because of the blast.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Preparation (Part 2)

Author's notes: Yes I know that I used the Blue-eyes White Dragon's Japanese attack name, but I dislike White Lightning. Burst Stream sounds cooler. Once again, if you got a character in mind who is a duelist, let me know about them so I can put them in the Shadow Tournament.


	9. Preparations Part 2

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh or anything to do with Yugioh. The only things I own are my characters and the original cards they use.

Chapter 9- Preparation (Part 2)

_Daniel narrowed his eyes, almost mirroring Kaiba. "Don't take me lightly. I'm not as easy to beat as you think."_

_Kaiba snorted and pointed at Daniel. "We shall see. Blue-eyes White Dragon attack with your Burst Stream!" The enormous dragon roared again and powered up its blast. "Now die you insolent fool!" The dragon released its attack in one lump of energy, the explosion even bigger than before. This time the very structure around the dueling area was cracked and damaged because of the blast._

Kaiba chuckled at the roiling smoke cloud where his opponent had been standing. No one could have withstood that blast and stayed conscious at the same time. As the smoke cleared though his chuckle cut off in his throat.

Daniel smiled through the glowing blue-green field of energy that had absorbed the force of the Burst Stream. "What's the matter Kaiba? Surprised?"

Daniel- 3100

Kaiba- 8000

Kaiba quickly recovered from his surprise. "What did you do? How did you increase your life points and negate my dragon's attack?"

Daniel slid one of his face-down cards into the graveyard slot on his disk. "I activated Draining Shield. When I use it I can negate the attack of one of my opponent's monsters and raise my life points by the negated attack total."

Kaiba pointed at Daniel. "Vorse Raider will take you down then!" The Vorse Raider licked its tongue across its fangs again, and launched across the field, blade in a striking position.

Daniel braced himself for what he knew was coming, but it still caught him off guard anyway. The blade slammed into his shoulder and for a moment he could almost feel it cutting his skin, and then the pain became less intense, though he was still driven to one knee from the force of the blow.

Daniel- 1200

Kaiba- 8000

Kaiba's expression had gone from a cold smile to an expressionless glare. "I set one card face-down. End turn."

Daniel slowly came back to his feet and drew. "Alright Kaiba, this is where your start losing. I set one card face-down and one monster in defense. End turn."

Kaiba drew. "You're simply delaying your loss fool. Give up."

Daniel glared murder at Kaiba. "You dare to hurt my sister, and then try to brush it off like nothing?"

Kaiba shrugged. "She'll live. Now Blue-eyes White Dragon, Burst Stream!" The dragon unleashed another spray of energy that instantly destroyed Daniel's monster.

Kaiba pointed straight at Daniel. "Now Vorse Raider will finish you off!" The Raider flew across the field, weapon raised to strike again.

Daniel watched its approach and waited for the right moment. Finally, when the Vorse Raider was within inches of him, he pressed a button on his duel disk. "I reveal Final Judgement! This trap destroys all dark attribute monsters on the field, meaning your Vorse Raider isn't a threat anymore!" There was a flash of light and the Vorse Raider screamed in pain right before it dissolved.

Kaiba continued to remain emotionless through all of it, though Daniel noticed that his fists were slightly more clenched that before. "Don't think you have any kind of victory over me fool. I set this monster in defense and end my turn."

Daniel drew and grinned. "I play the magic card Swords of Revealing Light!" The air around Kaiba's field shimmered before swords made of green light rained down upon his monsters. They slammed into Kaiba's Blue-eyes White Dragon and his face-down monster, freezing both cards instantly. "Now for the next three turns you can't attack me. End turn."

Kaiba drew his next card and took on a fairly predatory look to his face. "I reveal my face-down Mystical Typhoon, which will destroy your Swords of Revealing Light!" The swords of light around Kaiba's dragon shuddered and then shattered.

Daniel's happiness at being able to buy time for a strategy was instantly gone. His hands slowly went to his sides and he hung his head downwards. ("It's over. I'm sorry Rebecca, I failed.")

Kaiba pointed at Daniel and allowed himself a slight genuine smile. He loved it when he broke the opponent's will. "Blue-eyes White Dragon, show him that his pitiful antics can't defeat your power!" The dragon snarled and began to build up its attack, the gathered energy getting so big that the dragon seemed to be having trouble keeping it all contained within its jaws.

Daniel- 0

Kaiba- 8000

Daniel held his head down in shame as the Burst Stream blast overtook him and he lost consciousness.

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_Daniel looked around him and saw nothing but darkness. ("So did I die? Did Kaiba wind up killing me?") _

"_You don't get that easy of a way out," an angered voice said._

_Daniel snapped his head around in confusion. "Who said that!?"_

_The voice seemed like it was on the verge of screaming, "You failed to protect her! Weakling!"_

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Daniel woke up screaming. He eventually calmed down and realized that he was in his bed at home, and not in some dark abyss. Slowly he slid free of the covers and looked at the clock. It read 2:30 in the morning.

He sighed and trudged downstairs, collapsing on the couch in the living room and looking up at the ceiling. ("I lost to Kaiba. I shouldn't be that surprised though because he is the second best duelist in the world. I should be amazed I lasted as long as I did.") It didn't help him feel better though. It didn't matter how powerful of a player Kaiba was, Daniel had a purpose behind that duel. He should have won.

_("You fear that you aren't good enough?")_

("You have that right.") Daniel sighed weakly. ("I should not have lost.")

_("I'd advise you to stop beating yourself up idiot. You are going to have to go against more powerful duelists than Kaiba in the near future. Being uncertain of your dueling skills is just going to insure your loss in the Shadow Corporation Tournament.")_

("You suck at being motivational.")

_("I'm not trying to be motivational fool. I'm trying to make sure that you won't make an idiot of yourself in the tournament.")_

Daniel smiled slightly and went back up to his room. He didn't know why but he felt better now that he'd had his little therapy session with the voice in his head.

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_**Three weeks later...**_

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The three weeks had passed by rather quickly for Daniel, and he had started to have more conversations with the voice in his head, much to his dismay. He rubbed his eyes and looked his new deck over one more time, before smiling and sliding it into his duel disk. ("It's as good as it is going to get until later in the tournament.")

He had received a video about a week ago detailing the tournament and what its rules were. They were going to be playing with the 8000 life point rule and with tributes. There was also a special system that they were going to explain when the duelists all arrived at the island. He grimaced when he remembered one part of the video though. It had said that every duelist would lose his rarest card when he lost a duel, which ticked him off to no end. ("One bad hand and I'll lose Jinzo.")

He knew it couldn't be helped though. He trusted in his deck and in everything that it represented. It represented his determination to win this tournament and have his wish fulfilled by the Shadow Corporation. It represented his belief in the power of his monsters. Most of all though it represented his desire to utterly destroy Seto Kaiba.

Ever since he had lost to Seto Kaiba three weeks ago he had become completely focused on strengthening his deck. He smiled grimly at the thought of facing Kaiba with his own deck and his own cards. He would win that duel no matter what the odds and what the stakes. It was a vow he had made. ("And I never back down from my vows.")

"Morning big brother!" His sister gave him a big hug and even with his thoughts lingering on the Shadow Tournament, he couldn't help but smile and hug her back. "Morning little sister."

Rebecca threw him a smug look and pointed upstairs. "I know the tournament flight is about five hours away, but I want you to head up to my room. Remember the promise you made me?"

Daniel sighed and nodded. ("I get to play fashion doll for my sister. What a lucky guy I am.")

_("Bah! You spoil her too much fool!")_

("Oh shut up, you'd spoil her too.") Daniel trudged up to Rebecca's room, knowing the next couple of hours were going to be rougher than any duel he has ever been through.

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Daniel sighed as he got out of the cab to the airport. He shouldered his duffel bag and looked himself over. ("I look like someone straight out of an anime.")

His sister had gotten rid of his normal jeans and t-shirt wardrobe, replacing it with an almost pure black body-suit with the only non-black parts of it being the shoulder, knee and elbow areas, which were all a faded silver color. Draped across his shoulders was a leather jacket with the outer jacket being black and the inside of the jacket being the same faded silver as the other parts of the body suit. She had given him a black belt with numerous pockets and a deck holder that rested on his hip. Both were pure mixes of black and silver. For a finishing touch she had added in a pair of black combat boots to match the outfit.

_("You understand that you look like you are into...")_

("Shaddup before I take you straight to a psychiatrist so he can help me get rid you.")

_("You wish I was that easy to get rid of.")_

He smiled slightly at that and marched into the airport, ignoring all of the strange looks he was getting.

Finally he had arrived at the gate for his flight to Japan, where the Shadow Tournament was going to be held. Daniel looked around at all of the gathered duelists and blushed at how almost all of them were wearing casual clothing.

_("You on the other hand look like you are seriously into...")_

("You're treading on thin ice buddy.") Daniel slipped past a few groups of duelists until he saw the two people who he had been hoping to find on this flight. "Yo Deondre! CJ!"

Both of his dark-skinned friends looked at him and stared as he ran up to them. For a moment neither of them spoke, and then as one they collapsed on the floor laughing.

Daniel's face turned as red as his hair, and he dropped his bag onto a chair next to him.

CJ recovered first and got to his feet, brushing himself off. For the occasion he was wearing a black jersey, a pair of black button-up pants and a black cap. If he were to stand perfectly still in a dark enough area he would be invisible. "So Daniel, what's with the outfit? You want to let us know about some of your private hobbies?"

Daniel's face was glowing red at this point. Though he normally could keep his temper in check when it came to his sister, he was considering that this was one of the few times he could get away with yelling at her.

Deondre came to his feet next, barely controlling himself enough to not keep laughing. He was wearing a white undershirt with a jersey too, but his jersey was black, red and had white stripes going down the sides of it. He was also wearing a pair of black sweat pants and to finish his ensemble he had a black do-rag (Forgive me if I spelled it wrong, it's one of those words I can't spell.) wrapped around his head. He spared embarrassing Daniel anymore and simply nodded in greeting to him.

Daniel collapsed in his seat and grumbled, his face finally starting to lose its blush. ("Can it get any worse?")

"Heya bro!" His sister was jogging towards him with a backpack on. "I changed my mind about coming along with you. I just purchased my ticket for your flight."

As Deondre and CJ both snickered at him, Daniel could only think one thing.

("Damn you Murphy's Law.")

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Welcome to the Shadow Tournament

Authors notes: Okay, I have a lot more to talk about this time. First off I know that I'm pretty bad with descriptions, and if anyone else could actually write a better one and send it to me, I'll use it. Yes I'm that bad.

Secondly, for all who thought that the constant "into" references about Daniel's costume was something sexual, get yer head outta the gutter. They meant extreme anime fandom when they mentioned hobbies. :P

Thirdly, just in case any of you didn't know Murphy is the guy who came up with all of those hilariously negative laws. The one Daniel was referring to was that if you ever say it couldn't get any worse or anything to that equivalent, the the situation will inevitably get worse.

Anyhow, thanks for reading my fanfiction. Review if you can, because I like to hear if there is anything you guys might want me to do with the storyline. Remember that your opinion counts in this story.

P.S. I need more duelists for my guys to go against. Whether you post the character in the review or e-mail it to me, send it in.


	10. Welcome to the Shadow Tournament

Disclaimer- No I do not own Yugioh or anything that has to do with Yugioh. The only things I own are the original characters in this fic and the original cards they use.

Chapter 10: Welcome to the shadow tournament

Daniel Pilkington sighed as he watched another classic episode of one of his favorite real life shows. ("Deondre vs. CJ, round I-don't-know-what-the-number-is-anymore.")

He didn't even know what the two of them were arguing about this time. He thought it had something to do with whose deck was better. The two of them were on the verge of coming to blows over their argument, and he knew that when they did it would be best to get out of their way.

Daniel glanced over at all of the collective duelists on the plane and blanched at how many of them seemed to be on the verge of tackling CJ and Deondre to shut them up. He thought it best to slip out of his current seat and head up to near the front to join his sister. He walked past the curtains that separated the coach class passengers and went into the first-class area. Heading up front he saw the familiar blond-streaked brown hair of his sister sitting up front. And luckily the seat next to her was unoccupied. As he approached she smiled at him and waved. "What's the matter Daniel?"

Chuckling, Daniel motioned back to where his seat had been. "Deondre and CJ are getting into a fight right now. I thought it best to escape before I got caught in the fight." The sound of a fist striking a face came from the back of the plane. Daniel smiled as he heard the sounds of the fight between the two of them escalating, though he gulped when he thought he heard someone throw something metal against the wall of the coach class cabin.

Rebecca nodded understandingly and then tugged on his new clothing. "So how do you like your new clothes?"

Daniel put on his best fake smile. "I love them. They make me look so cool." At that point the voice in his head decided to throw in its two cents on the matter.

_("You're an idiot when you act like that. Just tell her the truth.")_

("You want me to make her cry?")

_("Good point. Tell her the truth and I'll kill you.")_

("You can't kill me. You're a figment of my imagination.")

_("You've never seen A Nightmare on Elm Street?")_

Daniel grew pale. ("Good point.")

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Giovan Garlin was reminded of just why he liked being rich. He was in the prime of his life, one of the richest men in the world, had a wife who loved him and he was in control of the most powerful military hardware companies on the planet. And if that wasn't enough, he was currently watching one of the most wanted duel recordings in the world. Only 100 tapes had been made and he owned at 100 of them. "Life is good."

He was lounging in the recreation room of his mansion and was watching the replays of the last recorded duel between Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba. He chuckled as Yugi used the Jack, Queen and King's knight combo to summon his Egyptian God card. "Such an old play Yugi. I hope that you have come up with some better combos for the tournament. Because if you haven't then I am afraid you are going to wind up losing rather quickly. Don't expect your precious Egyptian God cards to save you either." The new rules for the tournament would make playing those all-powerful creatures very difficult. He heard his intercom system beep and he pressed the button to allow the call in. "What is it?"

The voice on the other end crackled slightly and then said, "Mr. Garlin I just wanted to inform you that Daniel Pilkington is currently on his way to the tournament. He's aboard the plane right now."

Garlin tapped his fingers together thoughtfully and nodded. Everything was now falling into place perfectly. Soon the second part of Pilkington's initiation into the Shadow Corporation would begin. "Inform Viper to start the plan."

The voice seemed hesitant for a moment, and then finally added in, "What if he is unwilling to cooperate? The original method of persuasion didn't work so well."

He thought back on that and growled. Tapping a button next to him, the screen in front of him flickered and then brought up the video footage of the duel between Hawk and Daniel, and the disturbing situation that had occurred in the middle of it.

_**Daniel's body ignored him. It reached down and pressed a button on its duel disk. In a monotone voice it said, "I activate my face-down Monster Reborn card to summon Jinzo back from the graveyard." The earth in front of the corpse shuddered and the green metal armored form of Jinzo rose up from the graveyard, chuckling in its mechanical voice as it recognized the foolish human who had dared to use a trap to destroy it. "And now I shall even the odds for Daniel," said Jinzo angrily, the red lenses of his eyes glowing as they stared down Hawk.**_

_**Hawk's eyes snapped so wide open that they looked like they might pop free of their sockets. "What trickery is this!?"**_

_**Jinzo chuckled once again and raised its hand up. Hawk shivered slightly as he watched the corpse of Daniel mirror the motion. "There is no trickery here. I will not let you kill this boy. He and I have a purpose that must be fulfilled." Daniel's hand pressed another button on his duel disk and another card flipped up.**_

_**Hawk blinked in confusion, he had never seen that card before. "What does that do?" He felt rather stupid asking the question to a Duel Monster.**_

_**If Jinzo could smile it would have. "It's the magic card called Repair and Reinforce. This will raise Daniel's life points by twice what he has lost because of his opponent's card effects since his last turn. That means that he gains 8000 life points."**_

_**Daniel- 10000**_

_**Hawk- 8000**_

_**Daniel's body spasmed once more and collapsed. Unlike before though where the nanomachines had been killing Daniel, this time though it looked like they were repairing all of the damage they had done to him. **_

_**Hawk screamed in rage. "You dare to interfere with this duel!? Who are you!?"**_

_**Jinzo chuckled once more. "That is not for you to know puppet. Now watch as Daniel defeats you. Oh and on that note, tell your master that if he continues to bother this boy the consequences for his actions might be...quite painful." The mechanical monster went silent and seemed less animated than before.**_

_**Before Hawk could ask what the Jinzo had meant by calling him puppet, Daniel came to his feet. He wasn't sure how he was still alive, but Daniel wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If the nanomachines decided to go haywire and not kill him, he didn't have any complaints. ("I don't remember activating Monster Reborn or Repair and Reinforce though.") "It looks like I survived you little nanomachines."**_

The boy didn't have any idea what had happened, that much was evident. So therefore he had gotten outside assistance from someone. If they tried to put his life on the life like they had before, Garlin didn't have any doubt in his mind that something similar would happen and the boy would be saved from death. "True enough. Kidnap his sister and use her as the incentive for him to agree to the duel."

"As you wish sir," the voice on the intercom crackled.

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Daniel held a tissue to his nose. He had just broken out into a fit of sneezing. ("Maybe I'm coming down with something?")

The voice in his head sneered, _("With your horrible constitution I wouldn't doubt it.")_

Daniel wiped his nose once more and glanced towards the back of plane. It was quiet now, so he assumed that Deondre and CJ had most likely knocked each other out while they had been fighting.

_("That or the other passengers knocked them out.")_

Daniel shuddered at that thought. ("By the way, you normally aren't this chatty. Why are you being so talkative?")

The voice in his head went silent and he actually felt it give the mental equivalent of a shrug. _("I'm not sure. I'm just feeling...extra frisky today.")_

Daniel felt his cheeks warm in the form of a blush. ("What an interesting way of putting it.") He glanced over to notice that Rebecca had fallen asleep in her chair. He smiled warmly, tugged a blanket free from the overhead compartment, and then draped it across her and tucked her in. "Have a nice sleep." He stood up and went back to his seat. He needed to duel someone. He hadn't dueled with anyone in a while and he was getting out of practice.

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Amy sighed and collapsed in the nearest empty seat, eliciting groans of protest from the sleeping girl next to her. She had barely managed to get a ticket for the flight back home, and then she found out that her brother couldn't even meet her at the airport. Sometimes that boy was such a jerk that it was almost beyond belief that he had ever adopted her into his family. It wasn't that she didn't like being part of his family; it was just that he was so cold-hearted sometimes.

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Daniel sighed in disappointment. He had come back to find that Deondre and CJ had both knocked each other unconscious when they had been fighting.

_("You should have stayed back here to watch them make asses of themselves. It would have been better than the stupid in-flight movie.")_ The voice in his head whined.

He rolled his eyes and replied, ("Maybe, but do you think it would have been wise to be in their immediate range when they fought?")

The voice went silent and then sighed, _("Good point.")_

Standing back up in his seat, Daniel walked up the aisle and into the next cabin on the plane. If those two were going to spend the rest of the flight asleep, then he was going to go and make sure his sister was okay. As he went up to the first-class cabin though he found the spot next to where his sister was asleep was occupied. He didn't really intend to stay up front with Rebecca anyway. He had planned to simply make sure she was okay, and then he'd go and get some sleep.

When he tried to slide past the person though his foot slipped on a airline pillow and he plummeted forward, collapsing right onto whoever was sitting next to his sister. As he silently cursed whoever made airline pillows so small, the voice in his head decided to throw in a comment.

_("You have no finesse at all.")_

("I don't think you're one to talk about finesse, figment-boy!")

"Excuse me," a female voice said, "Could you please get off of me?"

The voice already knew what was going to happen, _("And now you'll go speechless. Then you'll stammer out an apology. Then you'll promptly pass out.")_

Daniel pulled back a bit to find himself staring into a pair of dark blue eyes. He felt his heart start to pound and a blush start to rise to his cheeks. ("Please don't be a cute girl, please don't be a cute girl.")

The voice did the mental equivalent of rolling its eyes. _("You really should get off of her, regardless of how cute she is.")_

Daniel suddenly realized he had been lying on this girl for over a minute now. He slid back a bit more to see that the girl had long chocolate brown hair. His cheeks got steadily warmer and he slid back more, finally taking in the girl's whole body.

As said before her deep blue eyes and chocolate hair created a startlingly smooth mixture of color, and the soft contours of her face definitely fell into Daniel's range of cute. She was cute. ("Cute....girl....") Her frame, while small was definitely in shape, which he could easily see even though she was wearing a loose t-shirt and a long skirt. She couldn't have been more than 5'5", but at the moment Daniel's mental state regarded her like a giant compared to him. ("Cute....gi..gi...") He started to feel his eyes roll back into his head.

_("......")_ For once the voice didn't have anything to say on the matter.

"Are you okay?" Amy waved a hand in front of the guy's unblinking eyes. His cheeks seemed locked in a permanent blush. She decided that since he was still staring at her then she would stare at him back.

She had to admit he had some redeeming qualities though. His bright red hair was resembled something like a bird's nest though, and his brown eyes were almost the same shade of color as her hair, which she found rather odd considering how deep a brown her hair was. He had a nice build too, a little on the lean side, but then again she really didn't like muscle-bound guys much. His clothing on the other-hand was interesting. She had to admit that he looked pretty good in his black and silver jumpsuit.

Daniel somehow managed to fight off the urges to collapse in an unconscious heap in front of her. Instead he looked down at the ground and blushed some more. "Sorry about that."

Amy giggled at his shyness. "Hey no harm done. I'm Amy Hiroshi," She extended her hand to him.

Daniel took it tentatively and suddenly felt his throat get very dry. ("Control....self....") "Daniel Pilkington."

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A short while later Daniel felt a lot better now. In a sleepy huff Rebecca had awoken when her brother had landed on Amy and in a desire to get some quiet she scooped up her stuff and went to coach class to use his seat. She made sure to beat him severely with her airline pillow on the way by though.

So now Daniel was sitting next to Amy and both of them so far were having a pretty nice conversation. Daniel wasn't even sure what he was talking about with her, he was mostly trying to run his body on automatic so that he didn't get a nosebleed or anything from being in such close proximity to a cute girl. He took a sip of the water he had ordered and then they continued to talk.

Amy was having a lot of fun talking to Daniel. He certainly had some interesting things to say. She noticed though that he had a slightly far away look in his eyes, and that he seemed to move almost mechanically. "So what are you headed to Japan for Daniel?"

Daniel chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm going to participate in the Shadow Tournament that is going to be held there."

Amy blinked in surprise. "Oh? I'm meeting my brother there because he will be entering the tournament."

It was Daniel's turn to be surprised. "Your brother is a duelist?"

Amy blushed slightly. "Yeah. He's a powerful one too. One of the top fifty in Japan."

Daniel took a sip of his water. Something was bothering him. He threw a question out to the voice in his head. It had been doing the mental equivalent of just sitting in the front of his mind quietly. It normally would slink back into his skull when they weren't talking. ("What's the matter with you?")

The voice forcefully said, _("Declare her as your mate.")_

Daniel did a spit-take with his water.

Amy blinked in confusion as Daniel's eyebrows scrunched up. He stood up and excused himself before marching off to the restroom. She scratched the back of her head and then shrugged. She laid back and waited for him to return. She was so relaxed she didn't even feel when someone clamped a hand across her face and poked her in the neck with some kind of needle. She didn't even get a chance to scream before she passed out.

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("WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT!?") Daniel veritably screamed into his head.

The voice yelled back, _("Either you go right now and declare her as your mate or I promise that the next time you go to sleep I will kill you!")_

He pounded his fists on the sink of the small bathroom. ("I just met her. I can't just declare her as anything to me. What kind of figment of my imagination are you anyway!?")

The voice snorted, _("I'm the one with enough guts to actually risk having interest in a girl, you coward!")_

("I was talking to her, wasn't I?") Daniel thought defensively.

The voice smiled smugly, _("Don't bother lying to me fool, I know your thoughts too well.")_

Daniel growled and for the thousandth time wished his voice had a corporeal form so that he could strangle it. ("I'll show you! Just watch me! I'll....I'll...I'll ask her out on a date right now!")

The voice hid its smile. It knew he was simply too easy to trick. It almost felt guilty.

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Daniel stomped out of the restroom, only to find Amy gone. ("Where'd she go?") He blinked as he noticed a letter addressed to him on her seat. Picking it up Daniel tore it open and pulled free a piece of paper.

**_Dear Daniel Pilkington,_**

_**We have your sister. She will not be harmed as long as you come down to the cargo hold of the plane. The stewardess in the back of plane knows who you are and will not stop you. Bring your duel disk and deck.**_

Daniel snarled and charged into coach class, snatching his disk out of his bag without even slowing down and running right to the hatch. As the letter had said the stewardess didn't stop him as he climbed down the ladder behind the hatch and into the darkness.

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Daniel had to maneuver his way around several crates before he finally arrived at a large open space in the cargo bay. The area had been recently cleared and there were holographic projectors set up around the area. He wasn't paying attention to that though. He was paying attention to what was hanging by a chain up in the air before him.

Someone had strung Amy up and left her dangling a few feet off the ground. She was still unconscious.

"Do not worry about the girl, she is alright." A man wearing a black cloak that obscured his features stepped out from behind a pile of luggage and took his position in the makeshift arena. "Welcome Daniel Pilkington. I am so glad you came." He threw his cloak aside to reveal a limber man in a black jumpsuit similar to Daniel's. He had no hair except for a long black pony-tail that hung from the very back of his head. He opened his eyes and revealed that they were orange with the pupils being slotted like a snake's. "I am Viper, an Emissary of the Shadow Corporation."

Daniel's duel disk clicked into place. "Then let's get this over with."

Viper held up his hand. "Not so fast. First I think it would be a good idea to explain that will count as a duel for the Shadow Tournament."

Daniel shrugged. "Am I supposed to care?"

Viper's smile revealed a pair of fangs in the place of his upper canine teeth. "You should care boy because that means the special rules are in place." He pulled a small glowing cube out of his pocket. "This is the COC (Cube of Chance). During the Shadow tournament before each duel the two duelists will roll this dice. Depending on what number comes up the rules of their duel will change accordingly. If a one comes up, then it will be a normal duel. If a two comes up, then the duelists will both have 4000 life points instead of 8000. A three will mean that the two duelists will use the deck master system during their game. Four removes the rule for tributing monsters to summon higher level creatures. A five will mean that both players start with only two cards at the beginning of the game instead of five, and finally a six means that both players switch decks and duel using their opponent's cards."

Daniel scowled, "How is that supposed to make this tournament fair?"

Viper threw the dice across the field. "It's not supposed to be fair, that's the point!" It bounced and rolled until it came to a stop on a four. "Ah, that means that for our duel we don't need to sacrifice to summon high level monsters." He drew his five and grinned. "Ready?"

Daniel drew his five cards and growled out, "Ready whenever you are monster."

Viper hissed and waved his hand outwards, "Then allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Shadow Tournament! Though your stay in it won't be a very long one!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Surviving Viper's Poison

Author's notes: Hey there everyone. Before I start babbling let me remind you to please review this story. It's nice to now that people are reading. Be brutally honest too when you evaluate my work. I promise you that I can take it.

Alright, next order of business is the new rule system for the Shadow Tournament. I came up for this a while ago and the more I thought about it the cooler it sounded to me. This way you really can't expect what to get in your duel. Also, before I type out the duels, I actually roll a real six-sided die to see what the COC says. None of this is planned out.

See you later. Tune in for the next exciting episode of "Demon Duelist Legacy".


	11. Surviving Viper's Poison

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh and therefore I don't own most of the stuff in this fic. I'm just borrowing it.

Chapter 11-Surviving Viper's Poison

_Viper hissed and waved his hand outwards, "Then allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Shadow Tournament! Though your stay in it won't be a very long one!"_

Viper drew his next card. "I'll start with one monster in face-down defense mode and two cards face-down. End turn."

Daniel drew and couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation he was in now. ("A hand full of tribute monsters and they won't cost me a single sacrifice thanks to the COC rules.") "I summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!" The green humanoid robot appeared on the field and gave its customary mechanical chuckle. "Jinzo, blow his face-down monster out of existence!" Jinzo built up a huge ball of dark energy and threw it across the field, the face-down monster instantly destroyed.

Viper hissed in delight. "Fool! You've attacked my Giant Germ (1000/500)! When it is destroyed in battle it summons two more of its brethren to the field in attack mode. Also it deals you 500 life points of damage."

Daniel- 7500

Viper- 8000

Viper searched his deck momentarily and pulled out his other germs, sliding them both out onto the field.

Viper smirked. "By the way, take a look up at your girlfriend."

Daniel glanced up at the unconscious Amy and paled. There was blood soaking one of the arms of her sweater. "I thought you said she was alright!"

Viper's lips curled into some kind of semblance of a smile. "She was, until your life-points took a dip."

Daniel knew what he meant. They had injected Amy with the same nanomachines they had injected him with before. The more damage his life points took, the more damage the nanomachines would deal to Amy's body. His blood started to boil at the thought of innocent people getting involved in this stupid little vendetta Shadow Corp. apparently had against him. "If she dies Viper...you will join her. Am I making myself clear?"

Viper bared his fangs at Daniel. "You dare to threaten me!? For that you must pay. And what better way to make you pay then by making this girl suffer."

Daniel set two cards face-down. "You've been warned," He said coldly.

Viper drew and hissed again. "So I have. I switch my two Giant Germs into defense mode, and set one more monster to join them on the field. Then I play the continuous magic card Dark Snake Syndrome." On both Daniel and Viper's arms a tattoo of a black snake appeared.

Daniel looked at his arm. "What's this supposed to do?"

Viper didn't answer him. "I end my turn."

As soon as Daniel drew his card for the turn the snake leapt free of the tattoo and bit him. He felt no pain, but grimaced as a welt appeared on Amy's forearm. ("Is she wakes up while her body is in that condition....")

The voice in his head finished for him, _("...Then Viper will pay.")_

Viper snickered. "Allow me to explain. Every one of our turns my Dark Snake Syndrome will bite us and drain away life points, starting with 200, and then going to 400, then 800, and so on."

Daniel- 7300

Viper- 8000

Daniel chuckled. "Today is a day full of ironies Viper. I'm about to use a monster that I won off your comrade Hawk."

Viper smirked. "Hawk and I were never comrades."

Daniel shrugged. "Regardless, I summon Blowback Dragon (2300/2100) in attack mode." A metal bipedal dragon with a 9mm pistol for a head appeared. "Now I trigger its special ability." Three coins appeared around the dragon and then as one they all launched into the air. "If the coins land on at least two heads, then I can destroy one card on the field."

Viper's smirk started to fade. "What are you aiming for?"

Daniel watched as the first coin landed on a heads. "I'll be aiming for your Dark Snake Syndrome magic card." The other two landed on a tails. "Or maybe I won't be."

Viper's smirk came back in full force. "What a foolish card. Relying on luck will never win you a duel."

Daniel frowned and set one card face-down. "End turn." He flinched at the volume of the voice in his head.

_("Why didn't you attack!?!?!?")_

His frown got deeper. ("When I destroy one of his Giant Germs Amy's body takes damage. I'll find another way to get rid of them without hurting her.")

The voice snarled in a way that sent shivers down Daniel's spine, _("YOU IDIOT! Win the duel first and then worry about the damage. He's going to be hurting her anyway!")_

Viper drew and the snake on his arm bit him. "How very touching...the boy is protecting his woman from harm."

Daniel- 7300

Viper- 7800

Viper looked at his hand and hissed, sliding a card into his duel disk. "Well now you will regret it fool! I activate the magic card Painful Infection! This magic card attaches itself to a player and then every one of your turns it will drain you of 500 life points."

Daniel grimaced but didn't respond.

Viper laughed. "Say hello to the theme deck killer, Tribe-Infecting Virus (1600/800) in attack mode!" The ground around Viper grew dark, and then slowly but surely a mutated blob like creature pulled itself free from the floor and slid up next to the Giant Germs.

Daniel held down his bile as he caught a whiff of the creature's stink. The things very imaged sickened him. The voice in his head whined loudly, _("Trust me; you're lucky compared to what I have to smell.")_

Daniel blinked in confusion. ("What do you mean?")

_("Stop asking questions and pay attention to the duel!")_

Daniel looked up just in time to see Viper discard the last card in his hand. "I discard a card to use my Tribe's special ability. It can kill all monsters on the field that share the sub-type I call. So I call machine." The Trice-Infecting Virus seemed to inflate for a moment, and then it spat out a cloud of bluish gas. It enveloped the field and Daniel's Jinzo and Blowback Dragon instantly rotted to dust.

Daniel growled and slid both of his monsters into his graveyard. ("I'm wide open to his attack.")

Viper turned his two Giant Germ cards into attack mode. "Now my virus monsters attack!" The two Giant Germs launched across the field, followed by the blob-like Tribe-Infecting Virus.

Daniel's growl turned into a chuckle. "Just what I was hoping you would do. I reveal my face-down trap card Des Counterblow!" The Germs flew across the field and slammed into him, and then the Tribe-Infecting Virus followed up with a single touch to his chest that left him feeling dizzy and weak.

Daniel- 3700

Viper- 7800

Viper's eye went wide. "What was the purpose of your trap card? You still took life-point damage."

Daniel watched as an angry red barrier of energy surrounded both players. "Yeah, but it also will destroy all of your attacking monsters this turn." As if on cue Daniel's barrier spat out beams of light that instantly destroyed Viper's monsters.

Viper hissed in anger. "End turn."

Daniel was about to draw but then the voice in his head interjected. _("Let me duel him.")_

("You can't duel him, you are a figment of my imagination.") The voice snarled but went silent. "Now then..." Daniel drew, "It's time to turn this game around in my favor. So first off let's have the little snake of yours take its shot." The snake tattoo on Daniel's arm snapped up and bit him. Then the Painful Infection card depleted more of his life points.

Daniel- 2800

Viper- 7800

"Now that we're done with that little effect, I reveal my face-down magic card Rise of the Machines. This allows me to summon one machine-type monster for every turn this card has been set and I haven't attacked. So that equals one turn. Therefore I choose to revive Jinzo!" Daniel's favorite monster reappeared on the field and chuckled once more.

Grabbing another card out of his hand, Daniel slapped it down on disk. "Then I summon Barrel Dragon (2600/2300) in attack mode." A bipedal mechanical dragon with revolver barrels for arms and a head appeared on the field. "Now I'll use its special ability. Just like my Blowback Dragon, I flip three coins. If I manage to get two heads then I can destroy one monster on your field." The same coins that had accompanied the Blowback Dragon's special ability appeared. They went up into the air and when they landed Daniel frowned. ("Three tails? Talk about great luck.")

Viper hissed in delight. "Now would be a good time to trigger my face-down magic card. It's a little something called Ability Negate. With it out one monster on the field will be stripped of all of its special abilities. And my target is Jinzo!" A steel clamp appeared and latched onto Jinzo's head. The monster shook in pain for a moment and then growled at Viper.

Daniel's frown deepened. "Jinzo attack his face-down monster!" As Jinzo powered up its energy ball, Viper pressed a button on his duel disk.

"I would have hoped you'd have been smarter. I reveal my Deck Destruction Virus. I will use it to infect my face-down Sangan (1000/600) with a deadly virus that will wipe you out!" As Jinzo's energy attack blew the face-down monster to bits, both of Daniel's monsters exploded.

"What did you do!?" Daniel gasped as his deck suddenly shrank in size to less than half its original number of cards. Then the Machine King in his hand faded away, leaving him with only two cards left.

Viper's eye slits narrowed slightly. "My Deck Destruction Virus infects your deck, hand and field with a deadly effect. It will destroy all monsters you possess with 1500 or more attack points. Therefore you have almost no monster cards left." He let the last sentence linger in the air as realization dawned on Daniel.

("I...don't...have anything with fewer than 1500 attack points in my deck. I've got no monsters left...."). The voice in his head snorted in disgust. _("You sicken me sometimes idiot. I've had enough of this back-seat dueling. Watching you lose stopped being fun for me a while ago.")_ Daniel felt a sudden burning pressure in his skull. He dropped his cards to the ground and collapsed to his knees, clutching his head in agony.

Viper stared in confusion at the spectacle. "What's the matter with you?" A cracking noise above him caught his attention. He looked up to see the damaged body of Amy Hiroshi suddenly heal completely. "What is going on? Are the nanomachines malfunctioning?" He looked back down at Daniel and watched as the wounds that had been on the girl's body transferred. Daniel's body started to shift as the welts and cuts that had been on Amy's body appeared on his form. Viper took a step back, shivering in fear. "How are you doing this? It shouldn't be possible."

Daniel's body started to change. His hair grew much longer, nearly reaching the small of his back. It spiked outwards slightly, which was strange considering that before his hair didn't normally have any spike to it at all. He screamed as the nails on his hands lengthened slightly and got harder, gaining a density that was impossible for bone to normally achieve. He let out one last cry of pain before crashing to the ground.

Viper was considering calling Master Garlin and telling him of this little development, but he knew better. If his Master wanted to know this then he already knew it. Daniel climbed to his feet and howled ecstatically. Viper nearly had to cover his ears at the sheer volume of the boy's voice. Finally it ended and he looked upon his opponent in confusion. "What was all that about? What did you do Daniel!?"

Daniel's body smiled just enough to reveal elongated canine fangs. His eyes had changed as well. Both of his irises had become a deep amber-gold mixture, and his pupils were slightly slotted like Viper's were. "I'm sorry but Daniel is not here at the moment." He reached down and scooped up the two cards that had been his hand, careful not to tear the cards with his new claws. He looked them over and laughed. "I hope you didn't expect your pitiful Deck Destruction Virus to slow me down. If anything you have helped me fool."

Viper hissed in rage. "You dare to mock me!?"

Daniel's dark smile widened and he slid the two cards he was holding into his duel disk. "Take your turn, you pitiful excuse of a lackey."

Viper tugged his deck out of disk and pulled a card free. "As you know when Sangan is destroyed I may search my deck for one monster with an attack total of 1500 or less and put it into my hand." He shuffled and slid his deck back into his disk. He drew a card and then watched as his own Dark Snake Syndrome card drained his life points.

Daniel?- 2800

Viper- 7400

Viper placed a monster down on his field in face-down defense mode. Then he slid a card into the magic/trap slot of his disk. "End turn."

Daniel drew a card sneered as the snake tattoo he had ripped a chunk of flesh out of his arm. He didn't even seem to acknowledge the pain. "I'll set the card I drew face-down. End turn."

Daniel?- 2000

Viper- 7400

Viper drew and winced as the bite from his magic card had quite a bit more pain accompanying it this time. "I will set one card face-down and end my turn."

Daniel?- 2000

Viper- 6600

Daniel drew and watched as the snake almost casually bit him. He felt his side open up with a wound, but he simply smiled and winked to Viper as the blood from his numerous wounds ran down his body, leaving him looking like a walking corpse. "Here is what I was looking for. I set one monster in face-down defense mode and end my turn."

Daniel?- 400

Viper- 6600

Viper's nostrils flared as he tried to figure out what his opponent had meant. He drew his card and winced as the Dark Snake Syndrome bit him and drained his life points again. "You understand that you will lose next turn, correct? End turn."

Daniel- 400

Viper- 5000

Daniel drew, but as the snake lunged up to bite him it suddenly spun around and shot over to Viper, clamping down ruthlessly on the Emissary's arm. Viper hissed in surprise and stumbled in pain.

Daniel- 400

Viper- 1200

Viper stared in horror at Daniel. "What happened?"

Yawning casually despite the fatal wounds he had, Daniel pointed to his field as one of his face-down cards flipped up. "This is my Spirit Mirror trap card. It allows me to redirect the effect of any magic card that targets a player. I simply sent the snake back to its master. So guess what that means."

Viper looked at the holographic tattoo on his arm in horror. "When you end your turn, my own magic card will finish me off."

Daniel snapped his clawed fingers together. "Bingo. End turn."

Viper sighed weakly and looked at his deck. He knew that if he tried to run like Hawk had done before, then Master Garlin would punish him for cowardice. "Before I draw my last card, tell me your name. I know you aren't Daniel Pilkington. He was a human, and humans couldn't take the damage you have inflicted upon yourself."

The being within Daniel's ravaged body smiled and bared his fangs once more. "I shall, but only if you tell your master not to involve Daniel's friends and loved ones in his madness. If he wants the boy then come after him directly." When Viper nodded he continued, "As for my name?" His next smile sent fear into Viper's heart. "I am the hunter. I am the wolf. But if you need a name for me then call me...Rikuo."

Viper nodded solemnly. "We shall meet again Rikuo." He drew his card and the Dark Snake Syndrome magic card finished the game with one bite upon its owner's arm.

Rikuo- 400

Viper- 0

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Amy woke up back in her seat. She had a splitting headache and her entire body felt like she had put herself through a meat grinder. ("Plus I had this horrible dream.") She shivered off the shadowed memories of a man with snake eyes and the feeling of blood being drained from her body.

"You had a good nap?" A voice next to her casually asked.

She looked over and blinked at Daniel, who looked like his normal self now. He fought back the blush in his cheeks and offered her a cup of water he had next to him.

She shook her head and laid back, looking out at the darkness. They still had a quite a few hours before they arrived in Japan, and she tried to get some more sleep. Strangely enough she fell asleep instantly. She had no more bad dreams for the rest of the flight.

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Daniel looked around at his surroundings. He was standing the dark abyss that he had seen once before, but this time he was here of his own will. He looked out into the void and yelled, "I know you are here! Now show yourself Rikuo!"

For a moment silence reigned over the blackness, and then the cold voice that had been inside his head for so long murmured sleepily, "What do you want idiot?"

Daniel walked forward and strode into the shroud. The darkness around him parted enough that he could see the dark form of his changed self laying on the ground, looking like he was trying to sleep. "So there you are."

An angry growl came from Rikuo's mental body and he snapped. "Yes here I am. Did you come to gawk at me now that you know I exist?"

Daniel scratched the back of his head. "Calm down man. I just wanted to talk."

Rikuo yawned, his back still to Daniel, and he curled up. "Go away and let me regain my strength. I may need it if you get confronted by another of the Shadow Corporation's Emissaries. I just know you'll screw up and then I'll have to pick up where you left off."

Daniel frowned but complied, floating away from the patch of darkness in the back of his mind. He would confront the "voice in his head" about the events in the cargo bay later. He normally would be freaked out by the entire situation, but the more he thought about it the more he realized that if Rikuo hadn't have shown himself, Amy would be dead right now. Daniel wouldn't have thought to reflect the effect of Viper's Dark Snake Syndrome back at him with Spirit Mirror. ("I guess you can stay in my head for now, at least until I get to understand you better.")

An angry snort caught his attention. _("You'll never understand me at all. And even if you wanted me out, I doubt you could evict me.")_

Daniel smiled slightly and drifted off into sleep having just as pleasant dreams as Amy was.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Arrival at the tournament

Author's notes: Hey there everyone. Well my character's darker half has just made his appearance in the storyline for real. I hope ya like him. By the way, please let me know if you think that Daniel and Rikuo are either too powerful or just overall too omnipotent. I tried to make sure that Daniel had plenty of flaws, and as for Rikuo....well explanations about him come later.


	12. Arrival at the Asylum

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or anything that has to do with Yugioh. I only own my original characters and the original cards they use.

Chapter 12: Arrival at The Asylum

A ship slowly sailed towards the foreboding landmass of an island. On board the vehicle the passengers of the ship argued and talked amongst themselves, with the exception of one group who were looking out at the foreboding island before them from the helm of the ship.

"That place is freaking huge." Everyone shared CJ's sentiments.

"What did they call the place in the brochure?" Daniel tilted his head to the side as he tried to read the piece of paper in front of him. The only problem was he couldn't read Japanese.

Amy sighed and took it from him. "They call this island The Asylum, because it used to be the sight for a huge insane asylum until recently when the Shadow Corporation purchased it for their tournament."

Deondre shivered as he looked upon the murky buildings that dotted the shoreline. "What a pleasant idea. I hope all of the original residents were moved out before they got the tournament set up."

"We can only hope," Rebecca said from the side.

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The gathering place for the beginning of the tournament was to be within the auditorium that had been built along the docks. Everyone was packed into the rather cramped room, which was meant to hold about 150 people at maximum. Unfortunately the turn-out for the tournament was more like 250. Because of that most duelists had to be content with wandering right outside the auditorium while listening to the announcements about the details to the tournament. Amy had forced her way in and said that she would get the necessary details from inside. When she came back out she had a little fanny pack with some important items in each. She also had a paper that would declare their dueling party.

"Dueling Party? What's a dueling party?" Daniel had never even heard of the concept before.

Amy grinned smugly. "Well then let me explain. Each dueling party must consist of three people. Each one is given a special storage gem that stores the number of points they collect when they win duels. When a team has 100 points they go to the top of the island and duel against a special challenge squad. If they win they get into the finals of the tournament."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "And if they lose?"

"Instant disqualification. Plus only eight teams will be able to get in. So time will be of the essence." She handed him a slip of paper. "Now sign your name in already."

Team name: Topdeck

1) CJ Anderson

2) Deondre Anderson

3) Daniel Pilkington

Daniel stared at the team name. "Who called us Team Topdeck?"

"What's wrong with the team name?" CJ glared at him.

"Err.....nothing at all CJ." Daniel wisely didn't pursue the argument.

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The group decided the first thing they needed to do was get their hands on some supplies. There weren't any hotels on the island and without them they were going to have to make do with what they had. Since none of them had packed any camping supplies, Amy had suggested they try to find one of the safe houses in the area.

"The only downside," she said, "Is that we'll have to beat another team to get access to it."

Eventually they located one on the edge of the port town.

The building itself looked like a normal house, but normal houses weren't covered by plexiglass on all sides of them except for the entrance doors, which had a lock across them.

"Greeeat..." Daniel kicked the plexiglass. "There are beds and all other kinds of good stuff we need in there but nope, we need to beat another dueling team to get access to it."

"Perhaps we can be of assistance," A snide voice said from behind him.

Daniel spun to find himself face to face a group of black wearing teenagers. "Err, how so?"

The Leader of the group, a guy with raven black hair and wearing a pair of thick sunglasses, chuckled. "Well, how about my team has a duel against your team? The winners get the house."

Amy stepped forward from around the other side of the house. "Hold on a minute, I'm the manager of this team and we need to get the ground rules down for the duel." She ignored Daniel's cough that was meant to try and get her attention.

The man removed his sunglasses and flashed a winning smile. "Sure lady. Does a two on two duel sound fine to you?"

Amy tapped her chin thoughtfully and then nodded. "Team Topdeck agrees to your demands." A trio of coughs from Deondre, Daniel and CJ went ignored.

"Very well then, Team Makai accepts as well. First let's determine which two duelists from each team are going to duel."

CJ stepped forward. "I'll take you on."

Daniel was about to step forward but Rebecca beat him to it. "I'll be his partner."

The Team Makai leader smiled. "Then I Brujah shall play, along with my second in command Caine." A spiky haired blond kid stepped up next to him and flashed a pair of fangs.

From within Daniel's head Rikuo snorted, _("Who's he trying to fool? Those fangs are fake.")_

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The teams had both cleared the street area and designated it for their dueling ground. Brujah flicked his COC up into the air and his duel disk clicked into place. "Shall we bet all of our team's points? Each team has started with ten points, so why not wager all of them?"

Amy nodded. "Team Topdeck agrees." She didn't hear Daniel and Deondre's sighs.

Brujah clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Then let's begin with the basic rules for the game. Each player will roll their COC separately. In the event a six comes up, then the team members will switch decks with each other instead of their opponents." CJ and Rebecca nodded.

Standing on the side-lines, Daniel smiled as he watched his little sister get ready. ("You think she can win Rikuo?")

_("Of course she will win this duel......I think.")_

Daniel had similar feelings on the matter. It wasn't that Rebecca or CJ were bad players, it was just that their two decks had nothing in common at all. Rebecca's was a light deck meant to power up her life points and then finish off her opponent's with the Sanctuary in the Sky field Magic card. Last Daniel checked CJ's Earth Beatdown deck didn't stick well to life gain.

Brujah flicked his COC to the ground, watching it bounce. "Here we go." It landed on a two. He watched as his life point total dropped to 4000. "Well that was disappointing. You're up Caine."

The spiky blond boy threw his COC next. He growled when it landed on a two and his score also dropped to 4000.

CJ couldn't believe their luck! Both of their opponent's had lost half of their life points and the duel hadn't even started yet. He picked his COC out of his pocket and tossed it. "Here we go." It bounced a couple of time and landed on a five. "Oh just perfect." He sighed and instead of drawing five cards he drew two off the top of his deck.

Rebecca tossed her COC next. "Come on! Give me a good one!" It landed on a three. She was literally hopping up and down in excitement. "That means I get to use a deck master!" She shuffled her deck and kept drawing cards off the top until she came to a monster card. "My deck master is going to be....." She flipped the card over and instantly developed an eye twitch. "....Watapon!?" Right next to her a fuzzy white ball of fluff appeared and cooed, rubbing against her leg.

Brujah chuckled and drew his sixth card. "Good luck with your fuzzball of a deck master little girl. I'll start with Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) in attack mode." A purple demon with ram horns appeared and howled, scaring Rebecca's deck master. The Watapon hopped behind her for protection. "End turn," laughed Brujah.

CJ drew and muttered something uncomplimentary about the Shadow Corporation and their dumb rules. "I guess the only thing I can do is summon D.D. Crazy Beast (1400/1400) in face-up defense mode, and set two cards face-down. End turn." A googly eyed red and teal monster appeared in a crouching position on CJ's field.

Caine drew. "Now to compliment Brujah's Archfiend Soldier, I will summon Earthbound Spirit (500/2000) in face-up defense mode." A rotted corpse clawed its way partially up out of the ground and moaned. "Then I will activate the magic card Black Pendant, powering up Brujah's Archfiend Soldier by 500 attack points. End turn." A black jewel appeared around the Archfiend Soldier's neck and he howled as the aura of energy around him increased in size. (2400/1500)

Rebecca drew and the grin that lit up her face told everyone that she had a plan. "First I'll summon Agent of Creation Venus in attack mode." A golden angel surrounded by three glowing spheres appeared on the field and began singing in her holy voice. The Archfiend Soldier on Brujah's field roared in anger.

CJ crossed his arms across his chest and chuckled. "What's the matter with your monster Brujah? Doesn't he like the light?"

Brujah narrowed his eyes. "Beware what you say about the demons. They will destroy you given the chance."

Rebecca slid a card into her disk slot. "Now I play the magic card Cestus of Dagla, which raises Venus's attack power by 500 points. End turn." Venus grasped a pair of glowing blades and her singing voice intensified. (2100/0)

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Daniel looked the field over. "So Deondre, what do you think about their chances?"

"Good question," he said. "At the moment it looks like CJ and Rebecca are in trouble. That Archfiend Soldier of Brujah's has way more attack power than Rebecca's angel or CJ's beast."

Daniel couldn't help but feel a little proud. "Don't worry. CJ and Rebecca have a plan.

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Brujah drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Cloak of Midnight." The Archfiend Soldier howled as it was enveloped by a cloud of darkness.

CJ went immediately on his guard. "What does that magic card do?"

"Allow me to show you. Archfiend Soldier attack CJ's life points directly!" From behind CJ the Archfiend Soldier faded into existence and struck him in the back with a jump kick before disappearing. He stumbled forward and fell flat on his face.

CJ- 5600

Rebecca- 8000

Brujah- 4000

Caine- 4000

CJ recovered his footing and blanched in fear. "That magic card allows your monster to attack life points directly?" When Brujah nodded CJ groaned.

Brujah set one monster face-down in defense. "I end my turn."

CJ drew and sighed. ("I hate playing defensively.") "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Caine drew and cackled, his insane laughter sending shivers up CJ's spine. Surprisingly Rebecca seemed unaffected by it though. "I will now sacrifice my Earthbound Spirit to summon the Dark Ruler Hades (2450/1200) in attack mode!" A demon appeared on his field wearing ornate robes and laughing in a booming voice. "And to give the Dark Ruler a little boost, I play the magic card Malevolent Nuzzler, which raises my monster's attack points by 700." (3150/1200) The Dark Ruler suddenly had a green-skinned woman hanging off of him. She whispered into his ear and his booming laughter picked up again.

Showing off his fangs with a feral grin, Caine pointed at Rebecca's Angel of Creation. "Dark Ruler attack with Nightshade blast!" Hades brushed the Malevolent Nuzzler off of him and he unleashed a pulse of dark energy at Rebecca's monster. As it approached Rebecca's field though the pulse diverted and flew over to Brujah's field, striking his darkness cloaked Archfiend Soldier and instantly destroying it.

CJ- 5600

Rebecca- 8000

Brujah- 3250

Caine- 4000

Brujah snarled as his monster was destroyed. "What happened!?"

CJ grinned and held up one of his face-down trap cards. "I happened. I'm not going to let you destroy our best attacker. So I used my Attack Redirect trap card to change the target of your attack to your partner's monster."

Brujah's snarl got louder. "Maybe, but at least I get a consolation prize. When the Black Pendant is sent to the graveyard my opponent loses 500 life points!"

CJ- 5100

Rebecca- 8000

Brujah- 3250

Caine- 4000

CJ shrugged innocently. "Hey, you win some and you lose some. You just lost a lot more than we did."

Caine looked his hand over and smirked. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Rebecca drew. "Well at least Watapon has a use. As my deck master he allows me to special summon any monster with 500 or less attack points that I draw. So I special summon Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode." A brown-furred creature with green feet appeared on the field.

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Deondre scratched his head. "Umm....why does your sister have a Kuriboh in her deck? Isn't Kuriboh a fiend?"

Daniel wasn't listening though. He was trying to figure out what his sister was up to.

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Caine and Brujah both broke down into almost disabling laughter.

"What's that pitiful fiend going to do to us?" Brujah almost fell over again with laughter.

Rebecca smiled and set two cards face-down. She looked over at CJ and smiled. "I saw what you were holding CJ." She switched her Angel into Defense mode and ended her turn.

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Daniel's eyes went wide with realization. "So that's it."

Deondre blinked in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

Daniel smiled. If he was right then very soon this duel would be over. "Just watch."

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Brujah drew and flipped up his face-down monster. "I flip-summon another Archfiend Soldier into attack mode. Now my monster, attack CJ's D.D. Crazy Beast!" The soldier flew across the field and cut down the beast in one slice. "I end my turn."

CJ took a deep breath and drew his next card. "I love this part. Now I play Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards from my deck!" He drew his two and he nodded to Rebecca. "Now I trigger my face-down magic card Exchange. I choose one player and we will exchange one card from our hand. I choose Rebecca." He walked over to her and fanned his two cards out for her. She smiled, took one, and then repeated the action with CJ. After they had changed out their cards CJ went back to his position. "Now then, I'll set one card face-down and I'll sacrifice my face-down monster to summon a new creature in defense mode. End turn."

Caine drew. "I don't know what you have planned, but it won't work against us. Dark Ruler Hades! Attack the little brat's Kuriboh!" The dark lord unleashed another pulse of darkness, but right before it hit the little demonic fur ball a field of green-blue light snapped up around it. The darkness struck the field and dissipated.

CJ held up another card from his magic/trap zone. "I activated the trap card that I exchanged with Rebecca. Draining Shield negates the attack of one of your monsters and raises my life points by that much."

CJ- 8350

Rebecca- 8000

Brujah- 3250

Caine- 4000

Caine growled and set one card face-down on his field. "I end my turn."

Rebecca drew and slid open her field magic card space on her disk. "I play the field magic Sanctuary in the Sky!" Around her a magnificent temple rose into the sky and brought blinding light down around the field. The Dark Ruler on Caine's field covered its face in pain and Rebecca's Angel of Creation seemed re-vitalized. "Now I reveal my face-down trap card Holy Judgment. This allows me to discard one card in my hand to destroy one card on the field. I choose Caine's face-down card." She slid one of her two remaining cards into the graveyard and watched as the top of the temple released a beam of burning light that instantly incinerated Caine's face-down magic/trap card.

Rebecca grinned. Everything was going according to her plan. "Now I reveal my other face-down card Multiply. This will turn my single Kuriboh into four Kuriboh that will fill up my monster field." There was flash of light and then the Kuriboh split three times, each of the copies floating back down to the field. "Now to finish you off Caine. First I'll switch my Angel of Creation Venus into attack mode." The angel snapped her arms out and lifted her Cestus of Dagla, ready to fight.

Caine snorted and waved at her dismissively. "Take a look at the attack totals of our monsters brat. Hades has over 3000 attack points. Your little angel can't match his power."

Rebecca slid the card she had exchanged with CJ into her disk. "Normally I'd be worried, but considering what I just gave my monster, you may want to reconsider insulting my Kuriboh and my Angel of Creation."

Venus's song reached a sudden explosion of noise so strong that it actually brought Caine's Dark Ruler Hades to his knees from the sheer force of her energy.

Caine stared in horror as his mighty demon was forced to the ground. "You little....what is the meaning of this!?!?!?"

Rebecca and CJ both were smiling. "I used CJ's United We Stand magic card to raise my Angel's attack power by 800 points for every monster on my field. Since I used Multiply to increase my Kuriboh to four, that means that I have increased my monster's attack power by 4000 points." (6100/4000)

Caine took a step back from the intensity of the light that came from Venus.

Rebecca pointed at Caine. "Angel of Creation Venus attack Dark Ruler Hades with Holy Shine Ball strike!" Venus waved her hands and the three silver balls surrounding her launched across the field and in one momentous explosion Dark Ruler Hades was gone.

DJ- 8350

Rebecca- 10, 950

Brujah- 3250

Caine- 1150

Rebecca returned Caine's dismissive wave from before. "By the way, the Cestus of Dagla lets me gain any life point damage that my monster deals. End turn."

Brujah drew and all the worry on his face disappeared. "Little girl, you angel is powerful here, but what about when she is alone in the dark with the demons and monsters that hate her kind? What will she do then?" He slid a card into his magic/trap slot. "I'll show you what I mean by triggering my Heavy Storm to destroy all magic and trap cards on the field." A strong wind picked up from all around them and it tore down Rebecca's temple and wiped away her magic cards, leaving her Venus at its original attack. (1600/0)

Caine knew what his leader had drawn. "Prepare to be plunged into the darkness."

Brujah added in, "Where there is no escape."

"For now you shall fear it forever more,"

Brujah slid a card into his field magic card zone. "The all-powerful Lair of Ten-thousand Demon Lords!"

The ground around the arena twisted and tore, huge chunks of earth being ripped up around the four. Huge dark spires rose up high into the sky and a ring of dark earth surrounded the field. The spires touched and formed a darkened dome, which shut off the arena from the rest of the world. The last thing Daniel heard was the maniacal laughter of Brujah and Caine before he the top of the dome slammed shut.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Light vs. Dark

Author's notes: Eh, I don't have a lot to say on the matter of today's episode. It is what it is. If you have comments on how I did please post them. Once again a brutally honest review is better than no review at all.


	13. Dark vs Light

Disclaimer- No I do not own Yugioh or anything that has to do with Yugioh. The only things I own are my original characters and the original cards they use.

Chapter 13: Dark vs. Light

_Brujah slid a card into his field magic card zone. "The all-powerful Lair of Ten-thousand Demon Lords!"_

_The ground around the arena twisted and tore, huge chunks of earth being ripped up around the four. Huge dark spires rose up high into the sky and a ring of dark earth surrounded the field. The spires touched and formed a darkened dome, which shut off the arena from the rest of the world. The last thing Daniel heard was the maniacal laughter of Brujah and Caine before the top of the dome slammed shut._

Daniel slammed his fists against the holographic stone, hating how it was so realistic that he couldn't get into it. "Oh come on! Show me my sister!"

A cold giggle from the side brought his attention to a woman in black who was one of the members of Team Makai. "What's the matter? Afraid for your little sister?"

Daniel's lips curled into a snarl and he considered trying to stop the duel. He knew he was being way too protective of Rebecca, but he felt that he had good reasoning because of his want to keep her safe. "Bring her back now."

The woman smiled and revealed that same fake fangs that the rest of her team had. "Or you will what? Strike me? Strangle me with your pretty leather jacket?"

Daniel trembled in unspoken rage, but thankfully kept his temper in check. He still wasn't sure about his connection to Rikuo and he didn't think his darker half would be so kind to the woman.

Rikuo snarled from inside Daniel's head. _("Let me kill her...")_

Daniel took a deep breath and looked back at the stone of the hologram. ("Maybe later.")

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Rebecca glanced around in confusion and fear. This place seemed so unnatural; it had to be a hologram. She was surrounded by a dark green glow that flooded the field and illuminated Brujah and Caine in a way that made their eyes and teeth glow in the dark. She shivered involuntarily and took a step back.

"Rebecca, don't let their stupid scare tactics work on you." CJ wasn't really all that afraid of these jerks. He knew they were just trying to scare their opponents into surrender.

Brujah's voice seemed to reverberate off the stone walls to create a perfectly demonic sounding voice. "Foolish mortal! You dare to question the power of The Lair of Ten-thousand Demon Lords?"

CJ chuckled. "I question nothing but why you feel the need to act like such a freak."

Rebecca shared in his laughter. She couldn't help but feel better when CJ was around. He was so very foolhardy that he bordered on suicidal sometimes, but on that same note the supreme confidence he had also was the perfect morale boost she needed right now.

Brujah growled, the very earth around him responding to his rage. "Let's see just how powerful you two are when I separate you with this magic card! I play Obscuring Nightmare!" The green glow of the lair was suddenly cut off by a shroud of blackness that left Rebecca alone in darkness of the chamber.

"CJ? What happened? What does his card do?" When no one responded she felt a cold hand grip her heart. What had happened?

Her duel disk suddenly beeped, saying it was her turn. She realized what had happened. Brujah's magic card must have cut her off from CJ. She drew her card and smiled. "Alright then, let's see just how cut off I am." She slid her magic card into her duel disk. "I trigger the magic card Card of Sanctity. This will force all players to draw until they hold six cards in their hand." She drew six cards and even in the dark shroud she could see the perfect card to end this madness. "Now it's time to get rid of your shroud Brujah! I activate the magic card Swords of Revealing Light!" The air around her shimmered and the shroud faded, giving her a clear view of the field and the life point totals.

CJ- 6450

Rebecca- 10, 950

Brujah- 3250

Caine- 1150

CJ threw her a winning smile. "Thanks for the save Rebecca." He pointed at his new hand of six cards that was thanks to her magic card.

Rebecca grinned as you pointed over at their opponent's field. "That's not all my magic card did."

Hovering around both Brujah's and Caine's fields were glowing green swords of light that stop their monsters from attacking for the next three turns. The two Team Makai duelists were growling in feral anger.

Rebecca looked her hand over once more and already saw the combos that would turn this duel around. "I set three cards face-down on my field and I will sacrifice 1500 life points to use the special ability of my Angel of Creation Venus. Her special ability allows me to summon any number of Mystic Shine Ball monster cards from my deck and hand to field, and all it will cost me is 500 life points per monster. I will summon all three." The three glowing balls that hovered around Venus floated down and landed on CJ's field since they had no room on her field. She still had her four Kuribohs filling it.

CJ- 6450

Rebecca- 9450

Brujah- 3250

Caine- 1150

Rebecca slid one of the Mystic Shine Balls into her graveyard and slapped down her new monster. "Now I sacrifice a Mystic Shine Ball to summon my Angel of Judgment Saturn (2400/0) in attack mode!" A purple skinned angel appeared and bowed to Rebecca. "End turn."

Brujah drew and laughed, the sounds once more echoing off the cold stone walls. "Watch this foolish girl! I'll destroy you and every hope you had of winning this duel with Team Makai's ultimate monster card. Of course I will need my partner's Archfiend Soldier and Queen Archfiend (900/1300) to do it." Caine nodded and slid his two monsters into the graveyard, while Brujah slid his Vilepawn Archfiend into the graveyard. "Prepare to pay tribute to the ultimate Archfiend! I sacrifice three monsters to summon the god of all demons!"

CJ tensed up. He had heard of a card that was said to be one of the most powerful demons, but for this guy to have it meant that they might be in more trouble then he wished to let on.

Brujah tossed his monster onto his disk and darkness flooded the arena that was so complete that even Rebecca's Swords of Revealing Light shuddered and then exploded into particles of Light. A howl of anguish and pain radiated from the patch of darkness that was so powerful that even her Angels of Creation and Judgment shuddered in fear.

From deep within the darkness Brujah's voice rang out, "Prepare to meet your end at the claws of the invincible Archfiend Emperor (5000/0) in attack mode!" A shadowed claw bigger than Rebecca's entire body reached out of the darkness. It wrapped tightly around her Angel of Judgment and with one squeeze Rebecca's monster was destroyed.

CJ- 6450

Rebecca- 6650

Brujah- 3250

Caine- 1150

She looked over at the darkness that shrouded the space between her and CJ once more. Her face went pale as she realized that she was cut off from her partner again. This time though she didn't have a way to shatter the darkness. She was on her own.

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CJ looked at his hand and then at the pitch blackness in front of him. His duel disk beeped to indicate that it was his turn now. He drew a card and then looked his field over. He had no cards face-down in his magic/trap zone, but thanks to Rebecca and her monster management he had a Kuriboh token (300/200) and two Mystic Shine Balls (500/500) on his field, all of which were in defense mode. He now had seven cards in his hand and his opponent had a creature with 5000 attack points. ("I have something that can beat it, but the problem will be summoning it.") "Alright, I play Graceful Charity! This magic card allows me to draw three cards from my deck and then discard two into my graveyard." He drew his three and slid the cards into his hand, and then chose two cards to slide into his graveyard. "Now I will set three cards face-down on my field, and then I will sacrifice one of Rebecca's Mystic Shine Balls to summon The Legendary Fisherman (1850/1500) in defense mode." A tan-skinned man riding a shark and carrying a harpoon appeared on his field in a crouching position. "End turn."

From deep within the darkness caused by the Archfiend Emperor Caine's voice leapt out at him. "Now watch as we show you the power of our Demon God. You see by sacrificing Demon sub-type monsters from our hand we can permanently increase our Emperor's attack power by the attack strength of the sacrificed monster cards. I discard 3000 attack points worth of monster cards and increase the power of our Archfiend Emperor by that amount." (8000/0)

CJ gulped in fear as a gigantic claw extended from the darkness and was about to slam down on his Legendary Fisherman. "Hold on! I trigger my face-down trap card Sakuretsu Armor. This will destroy your monster and leave my Fisherman safe." His trap card shuddered and exploded. "What!?"

Caine's laughter shook the stone of the lair as the Emperor's claws came down and tore the Legendary Fisherman instantly to shreds. "Did I neglect to mention that our creature is immune to the effects of almost all magic, trap, and monster effects that our opponent controls?"

CJ took a deep breath and slid his monster card into his graveyard. ("Remember CJ, you want your water attribute monster in the graveyard or else your combo cannot work.")

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Rebecca's disk beeped and before she even drew she switched her monster to defense mode. She had heard everything Caine had said, meaning that one hit on her Angel of Creation from their Emperor would instantly wipe her out. She drew her card and she couldn't help but smile. ("It might work.") "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Brujah's cold laughter reached her ears and she shivered. This was his terrain, and she was at a disadvantage here. "What's the matter little girl. Understanding you cannot win against the night? Well it will only get worse as I discard all but one card in my hand to fuel our Emperor Archfiend's attack strength." (14500/0)

Rebecca looked at their monster's attack total and bit her lip. ("What can I do to something with that much attack power? It's immune to almost all of my destruction effects and eventually I will run out of monsters to defend myself with.")

Brujah's voice came to her this time at an almost civil level. "Little girls should stay out of the way of demons. Too bad you weren't clever enough to figure that out. Now I will use the last card in my hand to annihilate you. I activate the equipment magic card Fairy Meteor Crush on our monster. This gives it the power to deal damage through defense. Now Archfiend Emperor, attack one of her pitiful Kuribohs!" The claw arose from the smoky darkness before her dove for her monster.

Rebecca pressed a button on her duel disk and prayed the trap would work. "I activate Negate Attack! This will stop your attack for this turn and end your battle phase." The claw stopped inches from her Kuriboh token and then it withdrew into the cloud of blackness.

"A nice save little girl but you won't be able to protect yourself forever. End turn."

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When CJ heard what Brujah had done to their monster he had almost thought of giving up right there, but then Brujah had admitted that Rebecca had somehow stopped their creatures attack for the turn. ("She's not giving up and neither will I.")

He drew a card and felt sweat pour down his face. This trap card might work, but only if he was lucky enough to time correctly to his partner's trap card. Normally that wouldn't be a problem for him, but since he couldn't see or hear his partner playing the trap would be blind luck at best. ("But it's that or surrendering.") "I will set one card face-down on my field, and then I will activate the magic card The Cheerful Coffin. This card allows me to discard up to three monster cards from my hand to the graveyard." He picked up the two cards he needed and slid them into his graveyard. He now had only one card left in his hand, but it was the card that would win the duel if he got it out correctly. "End turn."

Caine drew and cackled. "I discard the remainder of my hand to power up our Emperor even more!" (18000/0)

"Now Emperor attack his Mystic Shine ball and end the game for him." The claw broke the surface of the roiling blackness and dove for his second to last defense.

CJ flipped his face-down card up. "Try this on for size Caine! I reveal my Mystical Space Typhoon magic card. This allows me to destroy one magic or trap card on the field, and I will aim for your Fairy Meteor Crush equipment magic card, which eliminates your Emperor's special power to deal damage through defense!" The claw may have still crushed his Mystic Shine Ball, but at least his life points were safe.

Caine snarled out, "End turn."

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Rebecca's disk beeped and she drew her card. "I play the magic card Terraforming, which allows me to search my deck for one field magic card and place it into my hands!" She pulled her deck free of the disk and looked it over, before deciding their best chance was to take another Sanctuary in the Sky. She placed the card in her hand, shuffled up her deck and put it back in her disk. "I now activate Jar of Greed, which allows me to draw a card." She drew one card off the top of her deck and she smiled. "Now to banish your darkness and make you face the light! I play Sanctuary in the Sky!" As the earth around her trembled she knew that the duel was finally going their way.

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("Rikuo is it just me or is the earth trembling again?")

_("Normally I'd say it is just so that you would think you are insane, but this time yes it is.")_

Daniel took a few steps back as a huge pillar of light exploded out of the top of the dome and instantly destroyed it, leaving the field open again. Rebecca's shining temple was back on the field and it had dispelled all of the darkness. That wasn't what Daniel was looking at though. He was looking at the enormous monstrosity that was taking up both Brujah's and Caine's fields. (Ummm....Rikuo....")

_("Damn....that's a big demon.")_

("My sentiments exactly.")

The thing that stood on the two Team Makai duelists field stood at least 100' tall, and was covered in bony protrusions and corded red muscle. It howled and the windows on nearby buildings instantly shattered. It turned its enormous head downwards and sneered at Rebecca and CJ, like they were simply in its way on the path to victory.

Rebecca smiled back up at it. "I never liked demon sub-type monsters, with the exclusion of Kuriboh. Now I'll end my turn."

Brujah drew. "You think that removing the lair has stopped the Emperor? Fools, he cannot be killed. I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards off the top of my deck." He looked at the cards and smiled. "Now prepare to lose all of your pitiful monsters in one sweep. First I play this magic card Tribe Change, which will turn our Emperor into a spellcaster sub-type monster. Then I shall play the magic card Diffusion Wave-motion, which allows one level seven or higher spellcaster monster to attack every monster on our opponent's field." The Archfiend Emperor howled and slammed one of its two claws into the ground. In one blast of energy, Rebecca and CJ were defenseless. "End turn."

CJ drew and sighed in relief. "We've won."

Brujah and Caine both scoffed at him. "Yeah right."

CJ shrugged. "Fine then don't believe me. First I shall summon forth my secret weapon! I sacrifice a water, fire, wind, earth, light, and dark attribute monster from my graveyard to summon Nexus the Conqueror (3500/3000) in attack mode!" A magnificent warrior in gladiator armor appeared wielding a huge sword. He saluted CJ and then lifted his weapon into a striking position. CJ looked over at Rebecca and nodded. "Show them."

Rebecca smiled. "I flip up my face-down card Holy Judgment, which allows me to discard a card from my hand to destroy one card on the field." She slid the card in her hand into the graveyard.

Brujah sneered, "Little girl you are a fool. What makes you think you can win with that. It can't destroy our Archfiend Emperor."

The top of Rebecca's sanctuary thrummed with energy and then released a burst of light that slashed down the Type Change card on Brujah's field. "At what point," Rebecca added, "Did I become so deaf I didn't hear you the last time? We're not after your Emperor yet, we're after the card that makes him a spellcaster."

CJ nodded, "Right. I need the Archfiend Emperor to be a demon sub-type monster for my plan to work. Now reveal face-down card!" A card on his field flipped up and both Brujah and Caine went pale. "I see you know what Riryoku does. It takes half of one monsters attack points and adds it to the attack points of another. Meaning let's take that 18000 attack point total of your monster and add it to Nexus's attack points instead." Nexus bellowed out a war cry as his attack power shot upwards. (12500/3000)

Brujah snarled. "You won't win that easily against us. Only one of us will lose. The other will still have the Emperor on his field and since Riryoku only lasts one turn you can't win."

CJ sighed and slid the other card he was holding into his duel disk, "Just for saying that I'm going to have to add some power to our monster. I equip Nexus with the magic card Excalibur, which doubles his attack points." Nexus's sword was replaced by a much thinner blade, but his yell came with such intensity that even though he stood at only about 8' tall, the 100' Archfiend Emperor trembled in fear. (25000/3000)

Brujah snorted. "What did that accomplish? One of us will still survive the attack."

CJ waved his finger in the air in front of him. "Nope, because when Nexus battles a demon sub-type monster he may attack one more time afterwards."

Rebecca mirrored CJ. "So therefore you're both about to get knocked out of the tournament."

CJ pointed at the weakened Emperor. "Go Nexus the Conqueror! Attack with Excalibur Holy Wave!" The gladiator leaped into the air so far that he was staring the Emperor into the eye at the apex of his leap. He slammed his sword down into its skull and a golden wave of power ran down the immense monster's body, instantly splitting it in half. The backlash damage sent both Brujah and Caine flying out of the ring.

CJ- 6450

Rebecca- 6650

Brujah- 0

Caine- 0

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Right after the duel Rebecca smiled and handed Daniel his duel disk that she had been using. "Told ya I could do it."

Daniel smiled and shrugged. "Never said you couldn't." She walked past them and pressed her COC into the lock, the metal device beeping and sliding open the door. "So shall we enjoy the spoils of war?"

Everyone nodded and filed in, but Daniel froze. He smelled something. ("Why do I smell that someone is approaching us rapidly?")

Rikuo chuckled from inside his skull. _("I'm finally rubbing off on you idiot.")_

Daniel frowned but didn't respond. ("Have you recovered from the wounds you have taken from the duel against Viper?")

_("Yes I have. I know the smell. It is an emissary from the Corporation.")_

("We had better stop him before he involves my friends.")

_("Let me deal with him.")_

("I still don't trust you. Let me deal with it.")

_("Feh! Whatever you want idiot.")_

Daniel glanced at the open house and then went down the road. ("Here we go again.")

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Rikuo's war

Author's notes: Hola and stuff everyone! I hope all of you have been enjoying the duels so far. I know that the attack points of the last duel were pretty high, but it was meant to be that way. Anyway, if you want your character to be in this story just let me know about them and I'll put them in. Later.


	14. Rikuo's War

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or anything that has to do with Yugioh.

Chapter 14: Rikuo's War

Everyone nodded and filed into the house, but Daniel froze. He smelled something. ("Why do I smell that someone is approaching us rapidly?")

Rikuo chuckled from inside his skull. _("I'm finally rubbing off on you idiot.")_

Daniel frowned but didn't respond. ("Have you recovered from the wounds you have taken from the duel against Viper?")

_("Yes I have. I know the smell. It is an emissary from the Corporation.")_

("We had better stop him before he involves my friends.")

_("Let me deal with him.")_

("I still don't trust you. Let me deal with it.")

_("Feh! Whatever you want idiot.")_

Daniel glanced at the open house and then went down the road. ("Here we go again.")

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It didn't take Daniel long to run into the emissary. The figure of a man about his age came into his sight within five minutes of walking away from the house. Daniel decided this was as good of a place as any to make his stand. He held his hand out and waited.

The figure became more and more prominent until he finally got a good look at his new adversary. It was a boy about his age with shoulder length and quite literally golden hair and silver eyes. He was wearing a black and silver bodysuit that resembled Daniel's costume, except unlike Daniel this one labeled him as a member of the Shadow Corporation.

Daniel frowned and took a deep wiff of the air around him. This guy smelled so very familiar. "Have we met?"

The golden-haired boy smiled and brushed a lock of his golden mane out of his eyes. "We may have. We may not have. It all depends on who am I talking to. Am I talking to the boy or the wolf?"

Daniel's duel disk clicked into place. "The boy. So what's your name and what are the stakes in this duel?"

The boy's disk clicked into place and he continued to smile. "I am Ryu, an emissary of the Shadow Corporation. There will not be nanomachines involved in our duel, though there will be duel points involved and therefore the COCs will be used. Are you ready to duel young one?"

Daniel frowned angrily. "If you haven't noticed buddy you and I are the same ages."

Ryu snorted in a way that reminded Daniel way too much of Tiamat. "I highly doubt that you and I are anywhere near the same age. Your other half though......" His smile turned into a scowl, "I have business to discuss with him."

Daniel looked close to screaming, "I'm your opponent, not him!" He threw his COC and it came up as a three. He smiled and shuffled his deck. "That means that I get a deck-master." He kept drawing cards off the top of his deck until he came to.... "My deck master is Cannon Solider." (1400/1300) A purple machine with cannons strapped to its back appeared next to him.

Ryu nodded and drew cards off of his deck until he came to..."I choose the Lord of Dragons (1200/1000) as my deck master." A man wearing dragon bone armor appeared next to him.

Daniel drew his five cards and then his sixth. "Alright then buddy, let me show you the power of my deck master. By discarding a machine monster from my hand I can deal you 500 life points of damage, so I'll discard Barrel Dragon and Z-Metal Tank to deal you 1000 points of damage." The Cannon Soldier's weapon charged up and it fired a blast of light that struck Ryu in the chest. The silver-eyed boy stumbled slightly, but came to his feet smiling.

Daniel- 8000

Ryu- 7000

"Nice shot," Ryu commented.

Daniel grinned and set one monster in defense and one card face-down. "I end my turn."

Ryu closed his eyes and made a few mystic passes over his deck with his hand. "I draw." He slid the card free without even looking at it. He slid it into his hand and set two cards face-down. "Now it's time to summon the monster cards for this turn. I activate the Flute of Summoning Dragons and that means that since there is a Lord of Dragons on the field I can special summon up to two dragon cards from my hand to the field." A golden horn shaped like a dragon's head appeared and landed in the Lord's hand. He blew into it and then it disappeared.

Ryu slapped two of his three cards down on his disk. "I summon Hyozanryu (2100/2800) in defense mode first." A long diamond armored dragon appeared and curled into a ball. "Then I summon Serpent Night Dragon (2350/2400) in attack mode." A sinister looking dragon with red eyes appeared and screeched. "And finally for my turn I will normal summon Troop Dragon (700/800) in face-up defense mode." A trio of little dragons appeared, each of them crouching like the Hyozanryu.

Daniel frowned as he looked his new position over. ("Now he has an army and I've got a bluff and a defense card.")

_("Let me take this duel! I have business to discuss with the dragon.")_

("Shut up.")

Ryu pointed at Daniel's monster. "Serpent Night Dragon attack with Darkness Wave!" The dragon screeched and unleashed a flurry of spears made of dark energy. It consumed Daniel's face-down monster instantly.

Daniel frowned and slid his Y-Dragon Head into the graveyard. ("Not good. I don't have a lot of monsters in my deck that can match everything he has.")

_("LET ME OUT!!")_ Daniel's skull started to pound. He felt the pressure of his hair starting to grow as Rikuo tried to trigger the transformation between them. He clutched his skull. It didn't hurt like last time but he didn't want any help in this duel. No one was in danger and therefore he wanted to win this on his own.

_("I'VE HAD ENOUGH!")_ The pain came now, and Daniel managed one weak cry of pain before Rikuo took over.

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Ryu watched as Daniel's hair lengthened to his back and he developed claws. His body collapsed to the ground and gave out a weak cry, and then he stood up like nothing had happened.

A pair of golden eyes met Ryu's silver ones when he looked upon the form of Rikuo. "It's been a while Rikuo."

Rikuo snorted and picked up his hand of cards. "Maybe so, but it's not like you have wanted to see me or anything."

Ryu smiled. "Oh how wrong you are Rikuo. I'm here to avenge my family."

Rikuo raised an eyebrow. "What are you babbling about Jourgen?"

Ryu nodded solemnly. "I'm glad you remember my name Rikuo, it makes killing you easier. But my name is Ryu now and you will call me nothing else." He lifted a single silver nail up in the air and grinned to bear a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

Rikuo slid his hand of cards into his pockets and flexed his claws. "If you want a fight then I'm ready for you."

Ryu chuckled. "We'll finish it on the dueling field. On that note I end my turn."

Rikuo drew and smiled. "I summon Mechnicalchaser (1850/1000) in attack mode and I set two cards face-down." His golden eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the night. "End turn."

Ryu drew and frowned. "I was hoping I wouldn't draw this card until later. Oh well. I'll set it face-down for now." Rikuo was about to draw but Ryu held up his hand. "I have a question for you. Why did go back on your word?" His face twisted into a scowl and he snarled. All of his dragon monsters howled in anger, as if they felt their master's fury.

Rikuo bared his fangs. He was getting tired of these foolish accusations. "You are truly a stupid fool. What are you talking about?"

Ryu growled and the air around him shimmered. "Don't pretend you do not know! I thought we had a deal you honor-less dog!!" His voice rose in strength, releasing a wave of energy almost strong enough to push Rikuo to the ground.

Rikuo snarled. "You dare to question my honor. Our deal was that your family emerged unscathed in exchange for your surrender. My aides told me that your family had not been harmed in any way."

Ryu roared, "SILENCE!! I will not allow you to dishonor their memory with your lies! Serpent Knight Dragon crush his pitiful Mechnicalchaser beneath your Darkness Wave!" The dragon screamed and released a pulsing wave of spears. Right before they hit though there was an explosion and the dragon vanished off the field. "What trickery is this!?"

Rikuo chuckled. "Take a look at the field idiot. When I have three face-down cards is it really wise to attack me? Thanks to you I triggered Widespread Ruin and blew your dragon into dust."

Ryu growled. "I end my turn."

Rikuo drew and glanced at the card he had drawn. He knew most of Daniel's strategies, but he still knew that all of them could be improved upon. ("Now how to make Daniel's deck do what I want it to.") He flashed a feral smile, picked up the Mechanicalchaser card and slid it into the graveyard. "I shall sacrifice Mechanicalchaser to summon my host's favorite monster, Jinzo." (2400/1500) The green armored humanoid appeared on the field and chuckled coldly. "Jinzo attack his Troop Dragon now!" The monster built up a ball of glowing energy and blew the three dragons to pieces. Rikuo felt proud of his little success until a new Troop Dragon card appeared on Ryu's field in defense mode.

In all honesty Rikuo wasn't surprised. A dragon deck wouldn't play creatures that weak unless they had a very good special ability. Troop Dragon's power must have been that when one of them is destroyed another one is summoned from his opponent's deck. "End turn."

Ryu drew and slid a card into his disk. "I activate the magic card Death Meteor, which will deal you 1000 life points of damage!" A dark portal appeared above Ryu's field and it spat out a huge ball of fire that engulfed Rikuo. As it cleared he stood up and brushed his smoldering suit off. "Careful Ryu, I like this jacket."

Rikuo- 7000

Ryu- 7000

Ryu snarled, "You dare to make light of me!?"

Rikuo smiled and drew his card. "Actually I do." He looked at the card and visibly flinched. He had drawn a monster card that thanks to a little mental prodding on his part Daniel had placed into his deck. Considering the current situation it was a little disturbing to have drawn it. "Let me summon forth a creature that should hold some small irony to you friend. I summon Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) by sacrificing my Jinzo." A wolf demon in heavy samurai armor wielding a greatsword appeared on the field. In an odd way he resembled Rikuo himself. Rikuo felt someone screaming at him in the back of his head. ("Shut up Pilkington, our chances are better with this monster on our field instead of your outdated machine.")

Ryu looked upon the new monster and looked beyond enraged. "You do this to mock don't you?! You think that a card resembling your ancient self will affect me in the duel?"

Rikuo exchanged looks with him evenly. "I could care less what it reminds you of. Wolf Demon Lord attack with Howling Sword! Annihilate his Troop Dragon!" The samurai demon lifted his sword upwards and it started to glow a ghostly white-blue color. A sound like the howl of a wolf echoed from the blade and it released a spiral of blue flames that instantly consumed the Troop Dragon. Ryu waited for his next Troop Dragon to appear on the field, but nothing happened.

Rikuo replied off-handedly, "Did I forget to mention that the Wolf Demon Lord negates the effects of any card that it destroys? I end my turn."

Snarling at this insult standing on his opponent's field, Ryu drew his card and a slight smile came across his lips. "It seems that today is the day for ironies eh old friend? I will sacrifice Hyozanryu to summon Dragon Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode." A dragon demon in heavy samurai armor appeared on the field wielding a spear. He snarled at Rikuo's Wolf Demon Lord and it seemed like for a moment he was going to attack without getting an order from Ryu for him to do so.

Rikuo looked the field over and couldn't help himself. He had to start remembering things that had happened so very long ago....

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_Rikuo looked out upon the battlefield before him and snarled in building battle rage. Behind him stood an army of his best soldiers, ready to do battle with the enemy. He looked across the clearing of plains to the opposing army and he grimaced. It was pitiful to watch the fools of the dragon demon tribe even try to stand against the army of his lord. They had already tried to intercept them in the forest and failed miserably, and then once more the dragons attempted to stop them at the edge of the plains. Both times the prideful fools had been beaten back along their borders. Now their home city stood but across this plain. They were already badly damaged from their previous battles, while Rikuo's army had gotten plenty of time to rest up in between their battles. ("We are fresh and they are tired. We are strong, and they are weak.") _

_A scout ran up to him, panting from exertion. "General, the dragons have sent forth emissary wishing to offer their surrender."_

_Rikuo spat in disgust upon the ground and sighed. "If I had a say in the matter I'd say kill them all. But my lord said if they offered surrender that we were to take it. Very well, who will make the discussions with me?"_

_The scout seemed hesitant to answer._

_Rikuo snarled and lifted the weaker demon off the ground. "Well!?"_

_The scout squeaked out, "Grand General Jourgen..."_

_Rikuo's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this. "So he is here now hmm? Excellent." He looked at the scout and sneered. Squeezing slightly he felt the weaker creature's neck snap instantly. Tossing the corpse to the side of him he muttered to one of his aides, "Get me a new scout. The old one seemed to have a hearing problem."_

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Ryu sneered at his hated enemy from across the field. "Does the past bother you General Rikuo? Because it haunts my thoughts every night. For that you must pay." The Dragon Demon Lord on Ryu's field roared in rage and lowered its spear to aim at its enemy.

Rikuo dead-panned, "Take a look at the attack strengths of our creature before you start a righteous justice speech against me fool. They have the same attack strength."

Pressing a button on his duel disk, Ryu smirked, "You always were a horrible strategist when it came to long term plans Rikuo. I flip up my face-down magic card Lord's Ascension. This will transform my Dragon Demon Lord into an even mightier creature." The Dragon Demon Lord roared and its armor turned gold, and it seemed to shift into a new form that made it look more like a golden statue of itself then a warrior. "Say hello the almighty Grand Dragon General (3000/2500) in attack mode." The beast roared once more, and this time the very earth around him shuddered and cracked in response.

Rikuo frowned in disgust. "You think your monster scares me? Are you forgetting my other face-down card?"

Ryu lifted his hand into the air. "I summon the powers of my monster. Call upon one random dragon sub-type monster from my graveyard now." The General raised its spear high into the air and a bolt of lightning slammed into the ground. The ground around that spot shook and the head of Ryu's Hyozanryu broke the earth. The beast shook free of the ground and snarled.

Rikuo glared quietly at his enemy. "Don't think this changes anything at all fool."

Ryu shook his head sadly, "It's pitiful to watch you bluff Rikuo. Now prepare to say good bye to your physical avatar! Grand Dragon General crush his Wolf Demon Lord with Spear of Dragon Mastery!" The golden statue arched back its arm and hurled its spear at Rikuo and his monster.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: When the past catches up with you

Author's notes: I know that this chapter ended pretty swiftly, but I want to head to sleep and I wish to get this chapter up before I go to bed. I'll write the rest of it tomorrow. Ja ne everybody.


	15. When the past catches up with you

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, just the original characters in this fiction and any original cards they use.

Chapter 15: When the past catches up to you

_Ryu shook his head sadly, "It's pitiful to watch you bluff Rikuo. Now prepare to say good bye to your physical avatar! Grand Dragon General crush his Wolf Demon Lord with Spear of Dragon Mastery!" The golden statue arched back its arm and hurled its spear at Rikuo and his monster._

The spear arched across the field, leaving behind a golden trail in its wake. Right before it hit the Wolf Demon Lord though the golden weapon struck an invisible barrier and flew back to its owner.

Rikuo held up his other face-down card. "There you go. I told you that my other face-down card was a trap. Foolishly though you charged right into it. Well Negate Attack more than easily deflected your Grand Dragon General's spear, leaving me unharmed. Plus this trap ends your battle phase, so unless you want to trigger one of your face-down cards then let me take my turn."

Ryu's upper lip curved to reveal his fangs. "You can't run forever...eventually you will have to face me in battle."

Rikuo drew his card and nodded. "Oh do not worry Ryu. We will meet in combat in but a moment. I set one card face-down and attack your Hyozanryu with the Wolf Demon Lord. Howling Sword!" The Wolf Demon Lord howled and his sword unleashed a wave of white-blue flame that instantly destroyed Ryu's dragon.

Rikuo- 7000

Ryu- 6700

Rikuo closed his eyes and smiled. "I'd stop summoning back random dragons with your monster's effect if I were you. All you are doing is giving me targets to attack. End turn."

Ryu's clenched his fists and drew. "Still you mock my strategy! I've had enough of you and your mockery dog!" He looked at his card and frowned angrily. "Grand Dragon General will now summon a random dragon from my graveyard! Go special summon!" A bolt of lightning struck the ground and Ryu's Troop dragon monster reappeared on the field in defense mode. "Now Grand Dragon General crush his Lord!" The General threw its spear once more.

Rikuo snickered, "I'd think so much time you would develop a better strategy than blindly attacking someone. I reveal my face-down trap card Attack Redirection Armor. This will let me change the attack target of one of your monsters to a new creature. I choose for you attack to go after your own Troop Dragon." A suit of grey demonic armor appeared on the field and few over to hover in front of the Troop Dragon. The General's spear turned in mid-flight and slammed right into the three little dragons, blowing them instantly to pieces.

Ryu's hair was being moved by unseen winds, his silver eyes burning with rage. "Again you do nothing but dodge me! Fight damn you!"

Rikuo drew his card, glanced at it, and then slid it into his duel disk. "A good general knows when to fight and when to run. I play Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards off the top of my dueling deck." He slid his two cards off of his deck and slid them both into his disk. "I'll set both of them face-down and end my turn." The Wolf Demon Lord growled impatiently and Rikuo added, "Don't worry. We'll be on the offense very soon." The monster settled down.

Ryu drew and trembled in rage. "Once again my deck gives me nothing to get rid of your annoying demon. This time I'll attack before I special summon a monster. Grand Dragon General attack!" The Dragon howled and threw his spear. As it approached his field Rikuo pressed a button on his disk.

"You're too predictable Ryu. I reveal my face-down trap card Magic Cylinder, which re-directs your monster's attack right back at you!" A pair of cups appeared on the field. One in front of the attack and the other in front of Ryu. The spear flew into one cup and came out of the other, slamming into Ryu's chest."

Rikuo- 7000

Ryu- 3700

The earth around Ryu began to tremble and crack, and a glowing golden aura built up around him. His hair stood perfectly end on end. "ENOUGH GAMES! FIGHT!!!" The voice of his roar nearly sent Rikuo flying. As quickly as the outburst came though it passed, and Ryu looked normal again, his scowl deeper then ever.

Rikuo snorted and drew. "Pitiful. You were my opponent in the war of the plains?" He looked at the card and grinned. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon on your face-down card on the left, instantly destroying it and leaving you with only one trap to defend yourself with. A rough wind blew across the face-down card and it instantly shattered.

Teeth bared, Ryu drew his card. Almost instantly his scowl disappeared. He threw his head back and laughed.

Rikuo raised an eyebrow to this. ("I never knew that Grand general Jourgen was so very moody.")

Ryu's laughter was cut off as he brought his head back up and sneered. "Prepare to face defeat and my vengeance dog. I play the magic card Card Destruction. We would both discard our hands and draw new ones, but you don't have a hand, so I'll discard the two cards I am holding and draw twice." He slid his current hand into the graveyard and drew two new cards. "Excellent timing. I activate the magic card Monster Reborn, which will revive one monster from any graveyard." The ground next to his Grand Dragon General shuddered and then his Troop Dragon reappeared on the field in defense mode.

Rikuo tilted his head to the side slightly. "What was the point of bringing them back? You remember that my Wolf Demon Lord can instantly destroy them correct?"

Ryu ignored him and pointed at his Grand Dragon General. "Now summon forth a sacrifice for me, my mighty avatar!" The Grand Dragon General slammed the butt of its spear into the ground and the curved head of Ryu's Serpent Night Dragon broke the surface of the earth next to him. "Now I shall sacrifice my Troop Dragon and my Serpent Night Dragon to summon the ultimate Dragon! Come forth......"

Rikuo's head was suddenly stinging. Memories were flooding in and he couldn't stop....

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_Rikuo could barely contain his rage. "Milord I had made a deal with Jourgen! We would spare his wife and children if he offered us his unconditional surrender. Yet I come back to find that you have had them executed!!" He moved forward, violence evident in his eyes._

_Glancing at his guards to make sure he was protected, King Sestros turned to look upon the growling visage of his general of war. "I had to make an example of them. If any members of the dragon royal family were to live, they may come back one day with an army of their own looking for revenge. I could not take that chance. Not that I expect a feral beast like yourself to understand that Rikuo." _

_Rikuo started to advance towards to the king, the sword at his side glowing in response to its master's rage. "My heritage has nothing to do with this situation!" He drew his blade and immediately the king was surrounded by his guards. Rikuo wasn't worried though. He could take the whole guard force if he was required too. "You have destroyed my honor with you actions Sestros! For that I will kill you!" He charged, blade howling with him as he cut through the first guard..._

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"...Tyrant Dragon!" (2900/2400) A huge brown scaled dragon rose up out of the ground and roared, the force whipping Rikuo's hair in a dry wind.

Rikuo didn't notice though. His eyes were wide in shock. ("It...is...my...fault....") His hands fell to his sides limply. He looked at the growling Ryu across the field from him, and his hard eyes softened. ("I have dishonored him. Because of my actions his family was killed. I should have made sure that they were safe before I left the dragon capital. It's all my fault.") He fell to his knees, his head held low to the ground. From within the back of his mind Daniel screamed, _("Now you get emotional!?!?!?")_

Ryu pointed at the Wolf Demon Lord, his eyes wild with rage. "Tyrant Dragon destroy!" The dragon roared once again and released a spray of fire that arched across the field towards Rikuo's monster. "Prepare to lose honorless dog!!"

From within the back of Rikuo's mind Daniel screamed, _("Trigger your trap now!") _When his darker self didn't move, he yelled, (_"Rikuo do something!")_

Rikuo stared at the ground. He had lost his honor. Ryu's family was dead because he had not been able to uphold his part of the deal. ("I deserve to lose...") He felt himself slowly withdraw back into the darkness in Daniel's mind. ("It was my fault.") He didn't even flinch when the explosion burst of flame struck his field.

Ryu watched the smoke that had come from his dragon's attack. "Now your stupid avatar leaves and that means my dragon can attack again. Tyrant Dragon attack!" The creature arched back its head and built up another spray of fire. "Burn you cur!"

As the smoke cleared Daniel stood up slowly from the crouching position Ryu had been in. Surrounding his field and his Wolf Demon Lord was a blue field of light. "Not so fast Ryu! Rikuo may not be able to fight now but I certainly can. And when you attacked last time I triggered our face-down trap card Mirror Force! It will reflect your attack back at you and wipe out both of your monsters!" The glowing blue field shimmered and released a spray of energy that peppered Ryu's field, instantly killing both of his monsters.

Ryu stared in confusion at Daniel. "Rikuo dared to run from me!?"

Daniel growled and drew his card. "You are a fool! Rikuo remembered that it was his fault your family had been killed. He was willing to lose to you." Daniel looked at his card and his resolve hardened. "I on the other hand have no intention of losing to you. I will end this duel right now! I use my Monster Reborn to resurrect one monster from either of our graveyards! I choose to return my Jinzo!" The armored form of Jinzo rose up from the earth next to the Demon Lord and chuckled in its cold voice. "Now I'll attack your life points with Jinzo! Cyber Shock!" Jinzo built up a ball of dark energy and unleashed it at Ryu.

Ryu scowled. "Not so fast human! I activate the magic card Dark Wall of Air, which instantly negates all direct damage done to me this turn!" A swirling sphere of air built up around him and Jinzo's attack bounced off of it. "Since you can't hurt me with the Wolf Demon Lord either I suggest you end your turn."

Daniel frowned but nodded. "I've got two 2400 attack monsters on my field. Do you actually expect to draw a card that can stop them both?"

Ryu drew his card and slid it into his duel disk. "Perfect. I trigger the magic card Dragon Revival. This magic allows me to resurrect one dragon sub-type monster from my graveyard. I choose to bring back the Grand Dragon General." The ground around him shuddered and the golden form of Ryu's physical avatar appeared on the field. It slammed the butt of its spear into the ground and from next to it the Tyrant Dragon re-appeared. Ryu broke down into helpless laughter. "Looks like luck have favored me child. Though you are lucky, because Dragon Revival says that the monster it brings back cannot attack this turn. And my Grand Dragon General's special ability says similar. So take your last turn and prepare to fail!"

Daniel drew. ("It's the card I got from the Supreme Duelist Series Pack!") He slid it into his disk. "I trigger the magic card Replay! At the cost of half of my life points I may use one magic card in my graveyard! So I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" He drew and stared at them. ("Limiter Removal and Polymerization.")

Daniel- 3500

Ryu- 3700

He looked at his field and knew that Limiter Removal would only power up Jinzo for a turn, and then he would die. It wouldn't be enough attack power to finish off Ryu. As for his Polymerization card... ("Rikuo. Is there a fusion of Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord?")

A tired voice laced with sorrow came to him, _("Leave me alone.")_

Daniel growled in frustration. ("Stop it! What happened to the hunter? What happened to the wolf?")

_("The wolf died with his honor torn and shredded...")_

Daniel knew he wasn't going to get any help unless he did something rather...drastic. ("So that's it huh? The mighty demon general Rikuo runs away with his tail between his legs? You sicken me.")

_("Get away from me.")_ This time the voice was laced with anger.

("Or you'll what? You are useless. You're not even a wolf I bet. Just a common dog off the street.") He smiled grimly when a growl radiated in his mind.

_("I'll kill you!")_ Rikuo did the mental equivalent of charging. Daniel smiled and got ready. He knew this was going to hurt a lot.

Ryu stared in confusion as Daniel doubled over in pain for a few second and then his hair lengthened to his back once more. ("So the cur has returned.")

Deep within the recesses of his mind, Daniel kept a steady stream of insults headed toward his darker half's mind. ("I need to keep him angry!")

Rikuo snarled at the only target near him...Ryu. "I'll destroy you!" He quite literally slammed a card into his duel disk. "I activate Polymerization to fuse Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord together!" The two monsters slid into one another and a glowing portal appeared on the field. As the glow subsided a new creature stood forward. It had the face and body of the Wolf Demon Lord, but its armor had been replaced by the green armor of Jinzo. It lifted its new green greatsword and howled, the sound creating shockwaves across the island.

Ryu stumbled back in surprise at the new monster. He looked over at Rikuo and was about to ask what it did, but he saw that he was looking at Daniel once more.

Daniel felt his knees try to give out on him, but he wouldn't let them. ("I'm sorry about doing that Rikuo. I needed to be sure that you could fuse those two into something.") A low growl told him that Rikuo was not happy at the moment.

Ryu snarled and pointed at the new monster. "What is that monstrosity!?"

Daniel smiled and crossed his arms across his chest, the monster mirroring the movement. "Say hello to the ultimate fusion...Steel Wolf General (3400/2000) in attack mode!" The creature howled once more and swung its sword back. "It possesses the powers of both Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord. And since it is a machine it gets this little bonus!" Daniel slid the last card he had into his duel disk. "I activate Limiter Removal, doubling the attack power of my monster!" (6800/2000)

Ryu's eyes went wide...he had failed...

Daniel pointed right at the Grand Dragon General. "Your creature may be strong, but it's no match for our new monster!" The Steel Wolf General howled once more and flew across the field. In one slash Ryu's monster was gone, and so were the rest of his life points.

Daniel/Rikuo- 3600

Ryu- 0

Ryu stood there for a moment, and with his head held low he turned and trudged off without saying a word.

Daniel sighed and collapsed. ("Today has been a long day indeed.") He looked up at the full moon above him and chuckled. ("I should head back to the others, but the ground feels so nice on my back...") He closed his eyes and within seconds he was snoring.

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_Rikuo knew he was dying..._

_He looked at the sword that was sticking out of his chest..._

_It had pierced his heart..._

_And yet Sestros lived..._

_He had failed..._

_He looked up at the man who had destroyed his honor with spite in his eyes..._

_Sestros chuckled coldly and leaned in near to the dying face of his ex-general. "Such a savage beast you are Rikuo. You weren't ever worthy of anything more than death. I'm just surprised it took so long for you to snap." _

_Rikuo glared back. His heart was starting stop and he knew that in just a few short seconds he would be dead. He didn't have the strength to move his limbs..._

_Sestros leaned in even closer and sneered. "You will die with no honor left. You will regret ever crossing me." He had expected more rage from the dying wolf, but Rikuo suddenly went deathly calm._

"_If there is one...thing you should...remember Sestros..." He murmured the last part._

_Sestros blinked in confusion and leaned in even closer so he could hear what Rikuo had said. That was his last mistake as Rikuo's claw shot up and drove straight into his chest, ripping his heart out. He stared dumbly, eyes wide at the impossible act._

_Rikuo's eyes started to glaze over as he finished his sentence. "...is that...I am strong...and...you...ar..e...w..ea..k..." Rikuo slumped to the ground, followed seconds later by Sestros._

_Rikuo's last thought was that he had reclaimed his honor......and that he could die in peace..._

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_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Magic Show

Author's notes: And there you go! A bit of background on Rikuo and why he is such an...interesting kinda guy. Well I'm going to get to work on the next chapter now, so please post up reviews of this chapter and let me know if I failed to describe anything important. I'll answer your questions if I can.

P.S. Still need characters for the other dueling teams. I can come up with all of the emissaries, but I was rather hoping that I could get some descriptions of some other duelists for the other teams.


	16. The Magic Show

Disclaimer- No I do not own anything that has to do with Yugioh. The only things I own are my characters and cards.

Chapter 16: The Magic Show

Daniel awoke to someone kicking his side. He grumbled something and rolled over. The foot hit him harder. He grabbed said foot and tugged, bringing the owner to the ground on top of him.

"Get up Daniel!" CJ helped Deondre up and brought Daniel to his feet. Daniel looked around tiredly and then collapsed on the ground snoring again. CJ face-fell, while Amy stomped up to Daniel's prone form.

"Get up you lazy bum! Or else I'll kick you off the team and give your sister the spot!"

Daniel was standing and fully awake by the time she finished the sentence. "Like hell you will!" He looked around in confusion and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I fell asleep." CJ and Deondre both face-fell. Rebecca just rolled her eyes and walked past him.

"You better shape up and win us some points big brother."

Daniel grinned and flicked his COC to Amy. "We now have 30 dueling points. Team Topdeck is almost a third of the way to the finals."

Amy blinked at the cube and then looked at Daniel. "And when did you do that?"

Daniel whistled innocently and marched after his sister, his hands in his pockets.

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Less than an hour later they came to a theater in the middle of the road. Daniel looked the place over and scratched the back of his head. "Think maybe we could get some more duel points in there?"

Deondre looked at his duel disk and frowned. "We had better. I'm getting really annoyed with this. The whole first day I had to sit on the sidelines. I am going to play in the next duel." He marched right up to the double doors of the old rustic theater and knocked. "Anyone home!?" When no one answered he kicked the doors a couple of times. "Open up!" Again no answer came. "You've got until the count of three to open the doors! One...two...three!" He braced his shoulder and charged at the door. Right before he got to it though a trap door opened right underneath him. To everyone watching it seemed like he had simply disappeared into thin air.

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The second Deondre disappeared Daniel was on his guard. He sniffed the air and when he didn't smell any scents that reminded him of the emissaries, he relaxed a little.

CJ just walked up to the door cautiously and nudged it open. When they slid open he blinked and walked in, followed by the rest of the group.

Daniel held back a little to and closed his eyes. He felt his mind out and located the patch of darkness that represented Rikuo in the back of his head. He visualized himself there and after a moment of disorientation he found himself within the expanse of his mind.

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When Deondre woke up he found himself surrounded by darkness. "Hey! What happened!?"

Hysteric laughter reached his ears and he was blinded as spotlights flicked on. He looked around in confusion until someone dropped down from the ceiling, landing without a sound. One look at the new guy and Deondre wasn't sure whether he should run or laugh.

The man was wearing a black suit with a black top-hat. Around his shoulders was a black silk cape and covering his face was a mask that was half-smiling and half-crying. He stood slowly and did a flourishing bow to Deondre. "Greetings honored guest! Welcome to The Asylum's special magic show!" He waved his hand outwards and a huge curtain rolled back, revealing an enormous area full of chairs and stands.

Deondre glared at the man. "What was the big idea with the trap door!?"

The man turned and brought his gaze down upon Deondre. Violet eyes watched him appraisingly. He reached into the folds of his cloak and brought out a duel disk. "Prepare to duel for your life!"

Deondre's eyes went wide. "For my life!?" He decided that he didn't like the stakes of this duel. He turned to run but felt something whiz by his cheek, leaving a shallow cut. He froze and turned back to look at the man. He was holding a revolver in his hand and from the way the barrel was smoking Deondre could only assume it was loaded.

"Did I neglect the mention that if you attempt to escape I will shoot you anyway?" The man bowed once more and his disk clicked into place. "This will be an official Shadow Tournament duel! We each will be betting 20 points and one rare card. Oh, and our lives too." He cackled insanely and Deondre clicked his disk into place.

("Nowhere to run. I'll have to stand and fight.") "Let's duel!"

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Daniel wandered into the darkness, scratching the back of his head. "Umm..Rikuo? You here?" When he got no response he feared that maybe the wolf demon had left. "Hey I'm sorry about the whole pissing you off thing!"

A growl from right behind him caught his attention. He spun to find himself face to face with Rikuo's golden eyes. Daniel didn't even have a chance to move before he found himself dangling in the air, Rikuo's hand curled around his throat.

"You have some guts coming back here puny human!" Rikuo snapped his arm back and then forward, throwing Daniel across the expanse of his mind. Rikuo followed from right behind him, snarls sliding free of his clenched teeth. "I should kill you on the spot for daring to try and control me!" His foot came down hard on Daniel's ribs.

("Oh boy...I'm about to die in my own mind,") Daniel thought dryly. He waited for Rikuo's claws to gut him, but the blow never came. The pressure on his ribs was relieved and he found himself hefted to his feet.

"I had some time to think about it though and I have decided that you made the correct choice. You are forgiven for now." For Rikuo, that was the best version of an 'I'm sorry' that Daniel was going to get.

Daniel nursed his ribs and glared at his darker self. "I hate you."

Surprisingly, Rikuo smirked proudly. "I know."

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Deondre watched as the masked man put his gun away and cackled once more. "Ready to begin?" He threw his COC against the ground. It bounced a couple of times and came up a 2.

The masked man clapped his hands together in delight. "That means both of us will only have 4000 life points! That should make this game quite fun!"

Deondre grimaced. ("4000 life points and then he shoots me. Oh how lucky I am.")

The man drew his five. "My name, by the way, is the amazing Clarice!"

Deondre drew his five and then his sixth. "It won't matter what your name is when I am done with you. I set one monster in defense and two cards face-down, end turn."

Clarice drew and waved his hand out to an imaginary audience. "Let's give them a good show, shall we?"

Deondre had only one thing to say, "Freak."

Clarice looked his hand over. "I'll begin with a bit of replenishment. I activate the magic card Graceful Charity. This lets me draw three cards and then I must place two cards from my hand into my graveyard." He drew three and then slid two into his graveyard. There was a flash of light and a clown in baggy clothing with a red hat appeared on his field in defense mode. "Just to inform you, when I discard Peten the Dark Clown (500/1200) I may search my deck for another one and summon it to my field. Now then, I will sacrifice my new Peten to summon Chaos Command Magician (2400/1400) in attack mode!" A magician wearing green and black armor appeared, scowling at Deondre. Next to him another Peten appeared in defense mode.

Deondre frowned at the sudden army he was facing. ("I could be in trouble.")

Clarice pointed at Deondre. "Chaos Command Magician, show the audience your Dark Magic Blast attack!" The Magician aimed his staff at Deondre's face-down monster. Right before he could fire though a prismatic ring of light appeared around his monster.

Deondre grinned and held up his face-down trap card. "I've got a magic trick of my own Clarice. Watch as my D.D. Ring makes your monster disappear from the game." His rejoicing was cut short though as the ring cracked and shattered.

Clarice cackled wildly. "Did you think that my monster wasn't ready for your parlor tricks? Chaos Command Magician's special ability allows him to negate one targeting effect used against him per game. Now as I said before attack!" The Magician fired his blast and Deondre's face-down monster disappeared. Clarice was about to start cackling again but his Magician faded away. "What!?"

Deondre held up his monster. "Okay, so one effect per game right? Well then my Dimensional Warrior's (1200/800) ability to remove the attacking monster from the game gets through right?" When Clarice screamed in anger Deondre took that as a yes.

Clarice looked his hand over and slid two cards into his duel disk. "Don't get too comfy! This duel has just begun!"

Deondre drew and scratched his chin in thought. ("Now...what to do? His face-downs are most likely traps, and I still don't know how Peten the Dark Clown works yet. Better play it safe and defend for now.") He placed a monster on his disk in face-down defense mode and slid two cards face-down on his field. "End turn."

Clarice cackled and pressed a button on his disk. "You'll regret defending fool! I reveal my face-down trap card Crystal Shards!" Deondre watched in horror as it rained spikes of crystal over his monster. The card was punctured and then it shattered. "You see my trap destroys all face-down monsters on the field."

Deondre grimaced and slid his monster into his graveyard. "You think that affects me at all?"

Clarice drew and looked his hand over. His violet eyes quivered with excitement as he slid a card into his duel disk. "Now for my next trick! Watch as I make your life points disappear with this continuous magic card, Hangman's Noose!" A rope appeared wrapped around Deondre's neck. "Now every time you play a magic card you will lose 500 life points!" Clarice slid another card into his disk. "Now I set this magic card face-down on the field, and then I'll set this monster card. End turn."

Deondre drew and grinned. "I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two new....urkk!" His sentence was cut off as the noose tightened instantly. For a moment he couldn't breath and then the noose loosened, leaving him sputtering for air.

Deondre- 3500

Clarice- 4000

Deondre glared at the rope around his neck and then at the wildly laughing Clarice. He muttered and drew his two cards. "I'll shut you up right now you freak of nature. I activate the magic card....urk!" He was cut off again as the noose tightened once more, eliciting another round of insane laughter from Clarice.

Deondre- 3000

Clarice- 4000

Deondre nursed his now very sore neck. "Like I was saying, I activate the magic card D.D. Beacon!" A glowing machine a little bigger then Deondre appeared on the field and started to beep. "Now I'll set a monster in defense mode. End turn."

Clarice drew and broke down into a helpless fit of laughter.

Deondre dead-panned, "Enjoying yourself?"

Clarice recovered and slid his two monsters into the graveyard. "The star of the show is here! I sacrifice Peten and my face-down monster to summon the Dark Magician!" (2500/2100) A magician in purple armor appeared and floated down onto Clarice's field.

Deondre kept himself stone-faced, though on the inside he smiling. ("He's gonna run right into another Dimensional Warrior. Then he'll be out one Dark Magician and I'll be home free.")

Clarice slid the last card he was holding into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Thousand Knives, which can only be used in combination with the Dark Magician. It allows me to destroy one monster on the field." The Dark Magician waved its staff and a storm of knives slashed Deondre's face-down Dimensional Warrior apart, leaving him wide open to attack. "Now Dark Magician, unleash the ultimate magic trick! Dark Magic Attack!" The Magician waved its staff at Deondre, but before it could attack one of Deondre's face-down cards flipped up.

"Hold on their chuckles, I trigger the trap card Dimensional Warp. This will remove your Magician from the field for a turn, meaning it won't be able to attack me."

The Magician grunted as he was sucked into a portal. Clarice screamed in rage again as the Dark Magician reappeared, meaning that Clarice had ended his turn.

Deondre drew and looked at his Beacon. It had one glowing mote of light over it, meaning he was one step closer to winning. "Alright, since magic cards will hurt me then let's try this instead. I'll set one card face-down and one monster in defense. End turn."

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CJ threw another chair against the door to the stands, but once again it didn't budge. "I bet Deondre's in their too. If he's losing and I'm not there to rub it in his face I swear that someone is going to pay!" He went shoulder first into the door. The door held.

Rebecca sighed and shook her head. "This was the guy who had the strategy to beat an 18000 attack monster." From behind her Amy giggled.

"Why's CJ trying to kill the door?" Daniel asked from behind them.

Amy giggled again and Rebecca slapped her forehead with the heel of her hand. "We don't know why."

Daniel looked at the door quizzically. ("You smell that right Rikuo?")

_("Tell the gorilla to move, now.")_ Rikuo dead-panned.

Daniel whistled at CJ. "Hey CJ move!" CJ frowned but complied, stepping out of the way. Daniel walked up to the door, felt the wood experimentally, and then punched a hole in the door right above the lock. He felt around for a second until he found the lock and he turned it. He pushed the now unlocked door open and strolled in, leaving a dumb-founded CJ, Amy, and Rebecca to wonder how he had just punched a hole in 3 inch thick wood so easily.

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Clarice drew with a flourish of his hand and cackled. "The next trick will require participation from my opponent. I play Painful Choice. This card lets me pick five cards in my deck. Then you select one of those five and the chosen card goes to my hand. The rest go to my graveyard." He snapped out his deck and with remarkable speed slid his five cards into his duel disk, holographic pictures of each one appearing on his field.

Deondre looked his choices over. ("Dark Magician, Monster Reborn, Magician of Faith, Magical Hats (Magic card version) and Magical Hats (Trap version)") "I choose for you to have the trap version of Magical Hats."

Clarice placed the trap on his field face-down and then slid the rest of his cards into his graveyard. "Now attack my Magician, and crush his defender!" The Magician shot across the field but right before it could attack it vanished again.

Deondre held up his trap card. "Sorry but I play another Dimensional Warp trap card. You're Magician is out of reach for another turn."

Clarice screeched in anger. "GRRAHH! Turn End!"

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The rest of Team Topdeck had already taken their seats and were watching the duel with interest. Daniel however was watching Clarice with interest. ("Where have I seen you before?") Something about him struck a nerve.

_("Beware of that one, my idiot. He has the smell of insanity hovering about him.")_

Daniel raised a mental eyebrow. ("Insanity has a smell?")

_("Yes it does. Rather bitter though. I much prefer the sweet taste of fear.")_

Daniel sighed and continued to watch the duel. ("You're a scary person, you know that right?")

_("I'm not a person, idiot.")_

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Deondre drew and glanced at the card, and then he glanced at the D.D. Beacon, which had two motes of light over it now ("Just need to hold out for three more turns.") "I set one card face-down in defense mode. End turn."

Clarice drew his card. "I set a monster in defense mode and attack with my Magician!" The Dark Magician raised its hand and the air around Deondre's first face-down monster card became inverted. The card groaned in protest and then exploded into dust. "End turn."

Deondre drew and clicked his teeth his tongue. ("Great timing.") "First I'll flip up my face-down D.D. Warrior Lady!" (1500/1600) A woman in a grey bodysuit wielding a laser dagger appeared on Deondre's field. The D.D. Beacon beeped and another mote of light appeared over it. "Now I'll sacrifice her for a monster in defense mode. End turn."

Clarice drew his card and started to tremble with laughter. Finally he could no longer contain it and it echoed across the stage and stands, the very building itself seeming to laugh with him thanks to his echoes. "You..." He flipped one of his face-down cards face-up, "will..." The face-down monster and Clarice's Dark Magician were sucked into a black vortex, "lose." A new magician wearing black and gold robes and wielding a long ornate staff appeared on Clarice's field.

Deondre scratched the back of his head. "Am I supposed to be worried?"

Clarice smiled and bowed, the magician mirroring the action. "Say hello to one of the greatest magician monsters ever. Let's have a warm round of applause for our guest the Supreme Archmage Valgres (2950/1350) in attack mode! Now the show can truly begin! And when it is done my dear boy you will die!" His cackling began again.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The battle of mages

Author's notes: Hey there everybody, hope you liked today's second chapter. I'm going to get started on the next one right now. Later.


	17. The battle of mages

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with Yugioh. There, I said it again.

Chapter 17: The battle of mages

_Clarice smiled and bowed, the magician mirroring the action. "Say hello to one of the greatest magician monsters ever. Let's have a warm round of applause for our guest the Supreme Archmage Valgres (2950/1350) in attack mode! Now the show can truly begin! And when it is done my dear boy you will die!" His cackling began again._

Clarice motioned to his new monster. "For you see my Supreme Archmage Valgres lets me pick one magic card and one trap card of my choice from my deck and place them into my hand." He slid his deck out of his duel disk and looked it over. Then he grasped two cards and put them into his hand. "I think that the invincible magic card Raigeki and the trap card Scales of Balance will do. Now to wipe you out!" He slid a card into his disk. "Go Raigeki and leave him wide open for an attack!"

A bolt of lightning slammed down on Deondre's card, but nothing happened. Deondre thought that now was the best time to offer a thumbs-down to his opponent. "Bad idea. My monster is immune to your little lightning storm."

Clarice howled in rage. "Valgres get rid of his monster!" The magician aimed his staff and a blast of dark energy hit the face-down monster.

Deondre flipped his creature up and grinned. "This is my D.D. Dragon. (1200/1500) Not only can it not be destroyed by any monster with 1900 or more attack points, but only effects that target it can kill it. A widespread effect like Raigeki won't do the job." A crystalline blue dragon appeared on Deondre's field and screeched in agreement.

Clarice had gone strangely quiet in this time. He stood there, unmoving for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Very well. You are quite the skilled duelist. I set my last card face-down and end my turn."

Deondre drew and looked at his D.D. Beacon, which had four motes of light hovering over it. ("Alright, I need one more card with either dimension or D.D. in its title to trigger the Beacon's ability.") He looked at the card he was holding and grinned. "Jackpot."

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Daniel and CJ were both watching the duel with more than a little interest.

"You know what that beacon does CJ?"

"Nope, never heard of it before."

("How about you Rikuo?")

_("Will you please shut up and let me watch the duel!?")_

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Deondre slid his card into his disk. "Alright then Clarice, watch this! You're about to see the Supreme Duelist Series cards at work!" For a moment everything was still, and then a field of blue energy wrapped around all of Clarice's face-down and face-up magic and trap cards.

Clarice stared in horror. "What did you do!?"

Deondre held up his card. "I activated D.D. Stasis Field, which cuts you off from all of your face-down magic and traps cards for three turns."

Clarice growled. That meant that his Hangman's Noose wouldn't have any effect on Deondre anymore. And his other cards were useless to him for the next three turns.

Deondre watched the fifth mote of light appear. The D.D. Beacon shuddered and started to crack. With one last explosive crack, it shattered and a floating suit of crystalline blue armor appeared on Deondre's field. "Let's give a warm welcome to the stasis magic card Dimensional Armor."

Clarice did a double-take. "Stasis magic card? What are you talking about!? No such thing exists!"

Deondre shrugged. "Believe it or not, I don't care. This card will remain on my field until I choose to use it. For now though I'll end my turn."

Clarice drew and growled at his card. "End turn."

Deondre drew and looked his field over. For now he had only one way to win and it would require him to get his hands on a particular magic card. "I set this card face-down and end my turn."

Clarice drew and snarled. "End turn."

Deondre drew and wiped his hand across his forehead. "And here I thought I was in trouble. I guess not though."

By the look in Clarice's violet eyes it seemed like he was considering shooting Deondre for taking him lightly.

Deondre slid his card into his disk. "I activate the magic card Monster Reborn! This allows me to revive one monster from either graveyard. So I choose to bring back your Dark Magician to my field." The purple-robed magician appeared on Deondre's field and narrowed its eyes at its former master.

Clarice nearly screamed, "If you're going to waste your cards bringing back weak monsters you may as well save us both time and surrender!"

Deondre sighed and waved his finger back and forth in the air. "Tsk tsk, watch this. I'll now activate the effect of my Dimensional Armor. Attach to the Dark Magician!" The blue crystal armor latched onto the magician and there was a flash of brilliant blue light. As it cleared a much taller magician wearing the Dimensional Armor appeared and bowed to Deondre. "Allow me to introduce my ultimate spellcaster, the triple D himself!" He did his own bow to his small audience. "I present to you the Different Dimension Dark Magician (2700/2700) in attack mode."

Clarice snorted, "What will that hack of a magician do when it has to go against a true spellcaster like my Supreme Archmage Valgres?"

Deondre sighed, "Some people just don't appreciate true talent when they see it. Oh well, I guess that means you're just too narrow-minded to understand my monster's special ability. Activate now!" The Triple D Magician threw his staff across the field. The weapon pierced right into the heart of Clarice's Valgres and giving off one scream he disappeared. Deondre's magician bowed to the audience as another staff appeared.

Clarice stammered out, "H...h...h...h..how!?!?!?"

Deondre grinned. "When my monster hits the field I may remove one monster in play from the game. I chose your little Archmage. That's not all either. You have no Magic or Trap cards to defend you thanks to my Stasis field, so I can trigger my Mage Power equipment magic card without a problem. This will raise my monster's attack and defense points by the number of magic/trap cards on my field times 500."

The Triple D Magician spun his staff and started to glow as his power rose. (3700/3700)

Deondre pointed at Clarice. "Now give our masked friend a lesson in real magic power. Dimension Magic attack!" The magician unleashed a shimmering wave of crystalline blue energy that nearly threw Clarice off the stage.

Deondre- 3000

Clarice- 300

Deondre and his magician bowed once more to their now applauding team members. "Thank you! Thank you! We'll be here until the end of my next turn, when my magician knocks freak-boy over there out of the game. End turn."

Clarice drew and cackled. "You think I'm on the verge of losing hmm? Think again. Go Swords of Revealing Light!" Deondre's field glowed and then was surrounded by glowing swords of green light. "For the next three turns you won't be able to attack. End turn."

Deondre drew and snapped his fingers in disappointment. "What a let down. I'll set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Clarice drew and cackled. "Now your little stasis field trick ends!" The blue field cutting Clarice off from his face-down magic/trap cards faded. "Now I reveal the card that has been marinating more than long enough on my field. Go Learning Curve!" A graph appeared on the field that said '9 turns divided by 2 equals?'

Clarice raised his hand and a buzzer went off. "The answer is 4 and a half."

Everyone in the audience had already face-fallen while watching this spectacle.

Deondre just stared......

The graph spun and changed the writing on it to 'Correct! Now draw four cards.'

Clarice cackled happily and drew four cards off the top of his deck. "You see while that may have seemed quite silly, it had a very positive effect for me. The number of turns Learning Curve is on the field divided by 2 equals how many cards I may draw when I use it." He held up his six card hand and cackled. "Now you have no chance at all of winning."

Deondre and his magician both stuck their tongues out at their opponent. "Take your best shot freak!"

Clarice brushed his cloak back enough to show his holstered revolver. "Watch that tongue boy, or you may find it blown right off."

Deondre slid said tongue right back into his mouth.

Clarice's hand went back to his cards. "Now which option should I use to wipe you out?" He pulled a card free and slid it into his duel disk. "Let's start with this card face-down. Then I'll set a monster in defense and end my turn."

Deondre drew and looked at Clarice's field. ("There has to be something I can do to stop this madness. I just need to deal him 300 life points of damage and the duel is mine, but how though?") He knew he had one card that would be able to do it, but it was still somewhere in his deck. ("I'll just have to stall for more time.") "I set one card face down and end my turn."

Clarice drew and set another monster in defense mode. "End turn."

Deondre drew and looked at his field. He was developing plenty of face-down cards and his magician had gained more power (4200/4200) to wipe out Clarice, but he couldn't attack. And even if he could he doubted he would want to. Despite the great show he had put on with his Triple D Magician, he doubted that he would be able to win using his monster cards now. Clarice's cards seemed to revolve around killing monsters and opening up his opponent's life points to attack. "I'll set one card face-down on my field. That raises my magician's attack points (4700/4700) and gives me a better defense against your cards. End turn."

Clarice drew. "Another monster in defense and I'll end my turn after that."

Deondre drew and sighed. "I'll set a monster in defense mode."

Clarice drew and slid one more card into his duel disk. "I set one magic/trap face-down and one monster in defense. End turn."

Deondre drew and felt like slapping his stupid deck. ("What's with these useless monsters?") "I'll set one monster face-down and end my turn."

Clarice drew and set one monster in defense, completely filling up his field. "End turn."

Deondre wanted to attack, but he knew already that there was a trap waiting for his monster if he did. He drew and sighed. "I'll set one monster in face-down defense. End turn."

Clarice drew and cackled. "Now die! I reveal my face-down Card Cannon continuous magic card! With this on the field I may discard any number of cards from my hand at any time to deal you 500 life points of damage." A futuristic cannon appeared on Clarice's field. He walked up to it and slid a card from his hand into a slot it had. The machine beeped and fired a blast of energy that threw Deondre to the ground.

Deondre- 2500

Clarice- 300

Deondre tried to get up but got hit multiple times as Clarice started to empty his hand into the machine.

Deondre- 2000.....1500....1000.....500

Clarice- 300

Clarice took the last card he would need and slid it in. The cannon charged up its energy. "That's the end of this act." The cannon spat out another burst of energy that launched across the field towards Deondre.

Deondre threw himself to his feet and pressed a button on his duel disk. "Thanks for giving me the answer to finishing you off freak-boy! I reveal my magic card Curse of Pain!" The blast hit him and he was thrown onto his back.

Clarice cackled happily. "I have won!" He bowed to both his real and his imaginary audience.

Both Daniel and CJ were smiling though.

Deondre came to his feet and sneered. "Take a look at your point score Clarice."

Deondre- 500

Clarice- 0

Clarice looked at his disk and seemed to tremble in fear. "How? How? How!?!?!?!?"

Deondre slid the card he had used out of his duel disk. "Curse of Pain lets me redirect one source of direct damage back at you. I just took your last shot and gave it back to you. Sorry but you lose."

Clarice continued to tremble. He fell to his knees and numbly held out a card to Deondre. "Here it is....this Dark Magician card should go well with your deck." He slowly removed his duel disk and sighed. "You have won. And as per our deal..."

Deondre paled. "Hang on now! What...." He went silent as he was suddenly staring down the barrel of Clarice's revolver.

"Listen to me closely. I want you to go and never return to this place ever again. Walk out that door and take your friends with you. NOW!"

Deondre slid back off the stage and nodded weakly. "Let's go guys."

Team Topdeck left that theater in less than a minute. They were quite a way down the road when a loud bang echoed across the forest.

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Everyone ate dinner in silence that evening.

Daniel sighed and put his plate down on the ground. He went over and sat next to Deondre, who was staring out at the now shadowed form of the theater that they had dueled in from their position on the second layer of the island. Since they had 50 dueling points they were able to get past the first gate and move onto the second 'floor' of the island. He didn't move at all when he said, "Did he do what I think he did?"

Daniel sighed, "I have no idea. All I know is we will not go back there ever again. That place is dead to us now."

Deondre nodded and stood up. "I'm going to go for a walk, alright?" Daniel nodded and Deondre walked out of sight and stared out over a nearby cliff numbly. He felt like crying. ("Did Clarice really shoot himself?")

"Greetings!" An all too familiar voice cackled at him.

He spun to find himself face to face with....."Clarice! You're alive?"

Clarice bowed, still wearing his clothing from before. "I just wanted to let you know that we shall duel again, and next time I shall win." He turned to leave but Deondre stopped him.

"Hang on! If you didn't shoot yourself, what was that bang I heard?"

Clarice turned and with humor in his voice said, "My gun fired off accidentally." He turned and marched off.

Deondre stood there for five minutes, expression of surprise frozen on his face. Then he finally did the most appropriate thing to do at a time like this. He face-fell.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Emissary vs. CJ!?

Author's Notes: BWHAHAHAHA!! I had you going there didn't I? Everyone shakes their head Well next time I'll have to try harder. Anyway, read and review. I need to study for a mid-term. Ja ne.


	18. Emissary vs CJ?

Disclaimer- No I do not own Yugioh. Now read the story.

Chapter 18: Emissary vs. CJ!?

Giovan Garlin yawned and looked over the balcony of his mansion on The Asylum. It was four o'clock in the morning and he was feeling as fresh as ever. He turned and went back into his office, readjusting his business suit. His intercom beeped and he rolled his eyes, tapping the button. "Yes?"

"Sir, Ryu wanted to report...."

Garlin finished the sentence for her. "...that he failed in defeating Pilkington." The voice on the other end of the line was silent and he smirked. Pushing the intercom button again he said, "This is my island. If someone under my payroll fails then I know about it. Tell Spirit and Stone to go as a team this time. I want their target to be Pilkington's team though, not just him."

"As you wish sir." The intercom shut off and Garlin tapped his fingers together. "This is all too delicious. Rikuo keeps getting stronger and stronger. Soon the full power of the demon general will be mine."

He tapped the intercom, "Oh and by the way, stop taking pencils from the office supplies home."

On the other end the silence that came from the intercom brought a chuckle to his lips. He loved having knowledge.

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Amy sighed and dropped the map of the island back in her backpack. "It says from here that we are supposed to go through the graveyard area."

Deondre marched past her and groaned, "I love The Asylum."

Daniel marched behind him, "Yep. Greatest place in the world."

CJ filed in from behind him. "I hate this place."

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The group actually made it through the graveyard with little problem, until they reached the gates on the other side.

_("Shadow Corporation Emissaries.")_ Rikuo stated. It wasn't so much of a warning to Daniel as a reminder that Rikuo would deal with all members of the Shadow Corporation. ("I heard ya Rikuo.")

Sure enough, the two black-cloaked emissaries were waiting for them at the gates out of the graveyard. Daniel sighed and stepped forward, deck shuffled and duel disk in place. "Let's get this over with."

The tallest emissary held out his hand. In a deep bass voice he rumbled, "We are here to challenge your team boy, not you."

Daniel blinked in surprise. This was new. "So you want to take on the others? What are the rules?"

The other emissary, this one much smaller than her counterpart, whispered out, "It will be a two on two duel. Shadow Tournament rules. We will each be betting 10 points." Their disks clicked into place.

Daniel glanced over at CJ. "You up for a little tag team action buddy?"

CJ smiled, "You know it."

He was about to step forward but the larger emissary rumbled out, "No. Your team's duelists will be determined with this special COC." He threw a triangular version of the cube of chance at Daniel's feet.

Picking it up Daniel looked it over and after he was sure it wasn't rigged he nodded. "Alright, the two numbers will indicate which of the four of us will duel against these jokers."

1 Daniel

2 Deondre

3 CJ

4 Rebecca

Daniel threw the die and it landed on a three. CJ smiled and his duel disk clicked into place. He went over to take his spot facing off against the giant emissary. "You ready to rumble big man?"

The man threw his cloak aside to reveal a tan body ripped with muscle. The man's Egyptian features glared at CJ as he re-adjusted his ponytail. His leather bodysuit seemed stretched to its limit. "My name is Stone. I have heard of you CJ Anderson. You and your little Earth Beatdown deck. What a joke. I'll show you a true Earth deck." His disk clicked into place.

Daniel picked up the COC. "Here we go." ("Please be me.")

This was one of the rare times Rikuo agreed with his host. _("Please be the idiot.")_

Daniel threw it and watched it bounce to...a 1. ("Thank goodness.")

Deondre shrugged. "My duel with Clarice was enough for me. I'll duel later."

Rebecca pouted but didn't say anything.

Daniel flashed a smile and went to stand across from the woman emissary. She threw her cloak aside to reveal pale features and a petite body. She almost seemed like she was going to be blown away in the wind. "I am Spirit. You must be the demon general we heard about. The one who defeated Ryo, Hawk and Viper."

Ignoring the questioning looks from his comrades, Daniel chuckled. "Not yet. I will be in a second." ("Ready Rikuo?")

_("Just let me out already!")_

Daniel took a deep breath and when the feeling of the change came he didn't fight it.

Amy, Rebecca, CJ, and Deondre all gasped as Daniel fell to his knees, his wild red hair suddenly extending to the small of his back. He howled and slowly came to his feet, baring his fangs. He gave his opponent's a flash of his claws and smiled. "I'm the general." He glanced over at CJ. "On that note, stay out of my way gorilla."

CJ had been surprised before, but now he was mad. "EXCUSE ME!" He stomped over to Rikuo and came inches from his face. "You wanna fight!?"

Rikuo sneered and turned to face Spirit. "I meant you deal with your opponent and I'll deal with mine, idiot."

CJ clenched his fists and turned a bright red, while Deondre collapsed laughing off on the sidelines. CJ looked like he was about to throw the first punch, but he restrained himself and stomped back over to his field. Grabbing his COC out of his pocket he threw it. "I don't know what you did with Daniel but I don't really care. After this duel you and I are going to have a little fist to fist action." The cube bounced a couple of times across the uneven ground and landed on a 3. CJ's expression went from grim to happy. "HA! That means that I get a deckmaster." He kept drawing from the top of his dueling deck until he came to..."The Enraged Battle Ox! (1700/1000) Perfect!" The Minotaur monster appeared on CJ's field and snorted angrily.

Rikuo plucked his COC out of his pocket and sighed. "I hate this system." He flicked the die across the ground and it landed on a 2. He growled as his life points total dropped to 4000. "Damn..."

With a wave of her hand Spirit's COC floated out of her pocket and launched across the field, much to the surprise of Rikuo. It bounced a few times and stopped at his feet, showing a 1. She smiled slightly and winked to Rikuo. The wolf demon winked back, though in much more lecherous a manner.

Stone rumbled out, "Now it's my throw." He flicked his COC and it landed on a 3. "Excellent. Now I also get a deck master." He shuffled his deck and started pulling cards off the top until he reached a monster. "My deck master will be Millenium Shield." (0/3000) A floating golden shield appeared next to him.

CJ drew his five and glared at Rikuo quickly before drawing his sixth. "Let me get us started with Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) in attack mode!" An orange red gorilla appeared on CJ's field and roared, pounding its fists against its chest. "Then I'll set one card face-down. End turn."

Stone drew his five and then his sixth. "I set one monster in defense mode and three cards face-down. End turn."

Rikuo drew and gave a fanged grin. "To summon this monster I will need to sacrifice my partner's Beserk Gorilla."

"What!?" CJ screamed as his monster disappeared off of his field. "What are you doing!?"

Rikuo smirked at CJ and placed a monster on his disk. "I summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode." The green armored humanoid appeared on the field and chuckled coldly, though it did glance back at Rikuo and give him the robotic equivalent of a confused glance.

CJ ran over and grabbed Rikuo by the front of his bodysuit. "What the hell are you doing!?"

Rikuo narrowed his eyes and shot his elbows up, breaking CJ's hold on him. "Hands off the suit ape. I'm making better use of your monster." CJ looked something like a tomato at this point, before stomping back over to his field. Rikuo snickered at him behind his back and slid two cards into his duel disk. "Now I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Spirit waved her hand over her deck and five cards flew off the top of it, each card hovering before her. Then a sixth joined them. Her disk also hovered in the air before her. She waved her hand and a card landed on her duel disk in defense position. Then two cards slid into her disk. "End turn," she said quietly, the sound more like a whisper of the wind.

CJ growled at Rikuo and drew. "I summon another one of MY, "He emphasized the word, "Berserk Gorillas in attack mode!" The Gorilla appeared and roared just like the other one. CJ pointed at Stone's monster. "Attack!"

The huge monkey charged across the field and slammed both of its fists down on the face-down card. The monster on the other end appeared after the blow landed, completely unharmed. It was some kind of weird stone statue that hovered in the air a few feet.

Stone chuckled. "You have hit my Statue of the Aztecs. (300/2000) Its special ability doubles all damage you take from it. And thanks to my deck master, all defense mode monsters on my field gain 1000 defense points, meaning you take 2000 points of damage."

Rikuo- 4000

CJ- 6000

Spirit- 8000

Stone- 8000

Rikuo snorted at his partner. "Nice going ape." He ducked the rock that CJ threw at his head.

CJ growled loudly and slid another card into his duel disk. "End....turn..." His face seemed to be getting redder by the minute.

Stone drew and set another monster in defense mode. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and glanced at CJ's field. He looked at his hand and decided. "I will sacrifice my partner's second Gorilla to summon Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode!" A humanoid wolf in samurai armor appeared and howled up at the sky.

"STOP SACRIFICING MY MONSTERS!!!" CJ screamed, veins bulging out of his forehead.

Rikuo ignored him. "Now I play the magic card Polymerization to fuse Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord together to form Steel Wolf General (3400/2000) in attack mode!" The two creatures fused together and the product looked like a humanoid wolf in green cybernetic armor wielding a green greatsword. The Steel Wolf General howled and the ground around him cracked. "Now I attack your monster Spirit!" The General roared and flew across the field, slashing Spirit's monster in half. "End turn."

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Everyone on the sidelines just stared at Rikuo angrily. Amy was the first to throw something in. "What a jerk!!! Why doesn't he get his own sacrifice monsters instead of leeching off CJ's cards?"

Rebecca just glared at Rikuo.

Deondre frowned. "I'm trying to figure out what exactly he is doing. Is he trying to take down Spirit quickly so that he can go after Stone?"

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Spirit waved her hand and a card slid off of her deck. "I shall draw and then set one monster face-down and one card face-down. End turn."

CJ drew and glanced over at Rikuo. "Leave my monsters alone. I set one monster in defense mode and one card face-down. End turn."

Stone drew and frowned. "I suppose I'll set a monster in defense and end my turn." He almost seemed bored.

Rikuo drew and slapped a monster down. "Alright my dear Spirit, say hello to the Nightmare Machine (800/2000) in defense mode." A jet black robot appeared on the field and started to make noises like gears turning. "With this monster on the field I may produce a Demon Slime token (1000/1000) in defense mode every one of my turns. The only downside is that I may not summon monsters, though I may set them." He pointed at her field.

"Steel Wolf General attack!" The mechanical wolf demon shot across the field and slashed Spirit's monster in half.

She sighed and with a wave of her hand the card on his disk slid itself into her graveyard. "You are starting to bore me Rikuo."

Rikuo flexed his claws. "That can be remedied." He threw her another lecherous wink.

Spirit rolled her eyes and waved her hand, a card sliding out of her disk and floating in front of her. "The master never told me you were such a sexually frustrated little dog. Oh well, I suppose a monster in defense is all I'll do this turn."

CJ drew and clenched his teeth in frustration. ("This isn't getting us anywhere.") "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Stone drew and chuckled. "It's time to get rid of that annoying steel monster of yours Rikuo. I activate the magic card Stain Storm, which destroys all machine sub-type monsters on the field."

A storm of brown rain sprayed Rikuo's field and the wolf demon's two monsters rusted and exploded. Rikuo flinched a little, but quickly recovered. "I'm not out yet. Since your magic card destroyed my Steel Wolf General his special ability now triggers. It allows me to return my Wolf Demon Lord to the field in attack mode." The demon samurai reappeared and howled.

Stone snorted. "Your beast can't touch either of us now that we can use our trap cards." He took the two face-down monsters off of his duel disk and slid them into his graveyard. "Now I'll sacrifice these two monsters to set a new creature in defense mode. End turn."

Rikuo drew and chuckled. "This may be a costly way to go about beating you, but I'll take it." He slid a card into his duel disk. "I'll play the magic card Premature Burial. At the cost of 800 life points I may revive one monster from my graveyard. I'll revive Jinzo." The ground around his monster zone started to shake and crack.

Rikuo- 3200

CJ- 6000

Spirit- 8000

Stone- 8000

Spirit smiled and flipped her face-down card. "Say hello to the trap card Disappear. This will remove one monster in any graveyard from the game. So your Jinzo vanishes before he ever sees the field." The ground around Rikuo's area stopped shaking instantly.

Rikuo's irises turned a blood red. "You dare to foil me?" His voice was low and menacing, like a predator getting ready to pounce.

Spirit giggled. The sound echoed across the graveyard. "Come now, don't be mad. You have a good chance of winning still."

Rikuo slid another card into his duel disk. "Enough you wench. I'll set this card face-down and attack with the Wolf Demon Lord! Howling Sword!" The wolf demon swung his sword up and it glowed with a bluish-white flame. Bringing it down, a wave of ghostly flame flew across the field towards Spirit's face-down monster.

Right before it hit though Spirit flipped one of her face-down cards face-up. "You'll love this Rikuo. I trigger the trap card Dark Spirit of the Silent." An orange ghost appeared and blocked the Wolf Demon's attack. Then it flew over to CJ's field and hit his face-down monster. The card shuddered and flipped up, revealing the teal and red googly eyed beast known as the D.D. Crazy Beast. (1400/1400)

Rikuo raised an eyebrow. Since the trap was affecting the ape, he was more curious then angry. "What's your little ghost do?"

Spirit tittered, "It forces CJ's monster to attack in place of your creature." The Crazy Beast howled and lunged across the field, going after the face-down creature.

Before it could get there though Stone flipped up his face-down trap. "I reveal the trap card Staunch Defender! This forces all attack mode monsters on both of your fields to attack one monster of my choosing. So you both shall attack my Stone Statue of the Aztecs!"

The Crazy Beast skidded to a stop and bashed head-first into the Stone Statue. Then is stumbled back over to CJ's field, with little holographic birds circling its head.

The Wolf Demon Lord followed up with a blast of his Howling Sword, which hit the statue and scattered apart harmlessly.

Rikuo- 2000

CJ- 2800

Spirit- 8000

Stone- 8000

CJ glared at Rikuo angrily. "Stop attacking them until we clear their field!"

Rikuo snarled back, "You're more of an idiot than my host! We must force them to keep using up their trap cards until the way is clear!"

Stone shook his head sadly, "I have never seen such a lack of teamwork from any two people until now." He looked over at Spirit. "Sad is it not?"

Spirit nodded sagely, her white hair floating in the invisible wind she created. "Indeed. How these duelists made it as far as they did is beyond me."

Rikuo turned his attention to the emissaries. "Silence! If you want to insult us then say it to our faces." He slapped a monster onto his disk face-down. "End turn."

Spirit drew and nodded to Stone. "You are ready?" When he nodded she waved her hand and one of her face-down cards flipped up. "Then I reveal my face-down trap card Destiny Board." A ghostly board appeared above her field with a ghostly letter D hovering right above it. "At the end of every one of Rikuo's turns I may play one Spirit Letter from my hand or deck onto the field. When I manage to spell DEATH, we instantly win the game."

Stone nodded. "And with my defensive cards you cannot hope to get to my partner and her life points. In just four turns the duel is ours."

Rikuo and CJ paled visibly.

"Damn," CJ muttered.

"My sentiments exactly," Rikuo replied.

_To be continued..._

Author's notes: Ah the joys of friendship. Those two make such a great team. Anyway, hello once again folks. Review if you can please and let me know how I am doing so far. Is there something you want to see happen in this story maybe? Just post a review and let me know.


	19. United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. Stop making me repeat myself.

Chapter 19: United We Stand, Divided We Fall

_Spirit drew and nodded to Stone. "You are ready?" When he nodded she waved her hand and one of her face-down cards flipped up. "Then I reveal my face-down trap card Destiny Board." A ghostly board appeared above her field with a ghostly letter D hovering right above it. "At the end of every one of Rikuo's turns I may play one Spirit Letter from my hand or deck onto the field. When I manage to spell DEATH, we instantly win the game."_

_Stone nodded. "And with my defensive cards you cannot hope to get to my partner and her life points. In just four turns the duel is ours."_

_Rikuo and CJ paled visibly. _

"_Damn," CJ muttered._

"_My sentiments exactly," Rikuo replied._

Spirit waved her hand dismissively at CJ. "I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn."

CJ muttered a few select curses under his breath and drew. "I'll start by sacrificing my D.D. Crazy Beast and my face-down monster card to summon Mystic Knight of Jackal (2600/1200) in attack mode." A jackal-headed sword wielding monster appeared on the field and howled. "Now let's upgrade him with one of my face-down magic cards, Excalibur. This'll double his attack points!" The Knight's normal sword vanished and was replaced by a thin ornate blade. (5200/1200)

CJ pointed at Stone's Aztec Statue. "Attack now with Holy Wave!" The Knight slammed the weapon into the ground and a golden wave of light ripped across the earth, heading for Stone's monster.

One of Spirit's face-down cards flipped up. "I reveal another one of my Dark Spirit of the Silent trap cards." An orange ghost appeared from out of the card and blocked the attack from CJ's Knight. Then the ghost slammed into Rikuo's Wolf Demon Lord. The demon samurai howled and released a blast of ghostly flame from its blade, which dissipated harmlessly when it hit the statue.

Rikuo- 800

CJ-2800

Spirit- 8000

Stone- 8000

Rikuo snarled. They weren't going to win with monsters. Spirit and Stone had been given too much time to build up a proper defense against their attacks. ("There must be another way to win.")

CJ flipped another one of his face-down cards. "Let's try this then. I activate Exchange! This allows me to pick a player and then the two of us trade one card from our hands. I'll go after Spirit."

Rikuo gave a genuine smile of relief. ("That means that if she has a Spirit Letter in her hand the Ape can take it and then she can't complete her combo.")

Spirit frowned and flipped her last face-down card face-up. "Don't get too cocky. I reveal my face-down trap card Spirit Mirror. This allows me to re-direct the target of one magic card that targets a player to another player. So I'll switch your target to your partner. Since he has no hand your magic card is wasted."

Rikuo sneered, "Now hold on dear. I activate my own Spirit Mirror to change the target of the Ape's Exchange card back to you."

Stone flipped one of his cards. "I reveal my trap then. Seven Tools of the Bandit allows me pay 1000 life points to negate one trap, namely your Spirit Mirror."

Rikuo-800

CJ- 2800

Spirit- 8000

Stone- 7000

Rikuo flipped another one of his cards. "Then let me just activate my Jinzo substitute. I activate Royal Decree. This trap card is continuous and as long as it remains on the field all other trap cards are considered useless. Therefore the stack of cards we have activated will all be negated and the Ape's Exchange effect will go to its original target."

Stone flipped his last face-down card. "I reveal another Seven Tools of the Bandit. By paying another 1000 life points I can negate you Royal Decree."

Rikuo snarled and slid his cards into his graveyard. Their best chance at winning had just been lost to them.

Rikuo- 800

CJ- 2800

Spirit- 8000

Stone- 6000

CJ looked the field over and then looked at his last face-down card. ("This may work....but....") He looked over at Rikuo. "Buy me three turns and we'll win."

Rikuo arched an eyebrow. "We only have four turns to live."

CJ rolled his eyes. "Just do it."

Rikuo snarled a little at being ordered around, but for the sake of the win he'd bite back his pride. "Very well. Don't blow it human."

CJ nodded and then looked to Stone. "I end my turn."

Stone drew and looked at his trap-less field. ("This may be a problem Spirit.")

She glanced at him. ("We will be fine. We have them spooked enough of our strategy that they won't attack. Just set your magic card and end your turn. They'll buy it.")

Stone slid his card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Rikuo drew and looked the field over.

CJ had two cards in his hand. He also had his Knight of Jackal on the field with Excalibur equipped to it, and one face-down card.

Stone had three cards in his hand. He had a monster in face-down defense, his Stone Statue of the Aztecs in defense mode and one card face-down.

Rikuo only had one card in his hand. He had one card face-down and his Wolf Demon Lord in attack mode.

Spirit had two cards in her hand, a defense monster and her Destiny Board trap card in play.

("Now that I am done mentally reviewing the field, let's see what I can do with my options.") He looked at his new card and grinned enough to let one fang slide free of his lip. "I set one card face-down and attack Spirit's monster with my Wolf Demon Lord." The samurai demon charged and in one slice Spirit had an almost open field. "End turn."

The Destiny Board on Spirit's field started moving and then spat out another letter. Now there were D and E on her field. Rikuo growled from deep within his throat. (Three more turns and it's over for us.")

Spirit drew and a card floated onto her disk. "I set one monster face-down." Then a card from her hand floated into the disk. "And I'll set one card face-down. End turn."

CJ drew. "Watch this Stone. I activate the magic card Mystical Space Typhoon on your face-down card, instantly destroying it." A sharp wind picked up and blew Stone's face-down card to pieces. "Now Knight of Jackal attack!" The Knight leapt forward and slammed Excalibur down onto Stone's Aztec Statue. It cracked and then exploded into dust. "And thanks to my deck master's special ability all of my creatures have the power to deal damage through defense. End turn."

Rikuo- 800

CJ- 2800

Spirit- 8000

Stone- 3800

Rikuo was staring is disbelief at CJ. "For the love of.....YOU COULD HAVE USED YOUR CARD TO DESTROY THE DESTINY BOARD!!"

CJ continued to smile, ignoring him.

Stone shook his head at their opponents' continuing lack of teamwork. "How sad it is to watch you make fools of yourselves." He drew. "I set one monster and end my turn."

Rikuo have CJ one side-ways glance and then drew. "I attack with my Wolf Demon Lord. Crush Spirit's defender!" The samurai demon howled once more and cut the monster to pieces. "And as always thanks to its special ability your beast does not get its effect. End turn."

The Destiny Board creaked and spat out the letter A. Spirit looked at her board and couldn't help but smile. "Two turns to go General. I'll set a monster and end my turn."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------On the sidelines the rest of Team Topdeck were on the edge of their proverbial seats.

"If they lose we are going to be out quite a lot of points," Amy said, biting her thumbnail nervously.

Deondre was busy watching the duel and trying to figure out what CJ had needed three turns for. ("What does he have planned?")

Rebecca though was watching Rikuo duel. She found it hard to believe that the guy she was looking at had originally been her brother. For one thing Daniel would never let that red hair of his get down to his back. Rikuo also had golden-amber slotted eyes. Yet another thing Daniel shouldn't have. ("Is their connection magic? And how long has Daniel been keeping this from us?") Then she noticed something else about Rikuo that hadn't been there at the start of the duel. "Ummm, guys?" Both Deondre and Amy looked at her. She lifted her hand and pointed at Rikuo/Daniel. "What's that?"

Deondre and Amy both looked at Rikuo appraisingly, trying to figure out what Rebecca had been talking about. Then at the same time they had figured it out.

Rikuo had sprouted a tail.

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CJ drew. "Alright, time to start my winning combo." He glanced over at Rikuo and went pale. "Umm....Daniel....Rikuo....whoever...."

Rikuo looked over at CJ. "What do you want Ape?"

"What's that...thing behind you?"

Rikuo snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like I'm going to fall for that." He looked back at his opponent and noticed that Spirit looked faintly surprised at something too. ("Maybe the Ape wasn't joking.") He looked behind him and for the first time in a long while the wolf demon was actually surprised. "How interesting. I thought I would never see my tail again."

Swaying behind him was a long, black wolf's tail. He reached out his mind and the tail responded to his thoughts, curling around his waist right above his suit's belt. He looked back over at CJ and glared. "Stop staring and finish the duel. If you can win then do it already."

CJ nodded. He couldn't let himself get distracted. Team Topdeck was too close to either victory or defeat. ("This is going to be an all or nothing duel.") "Alright here we go! To start my combo I'm going to need my partner to activate his face-down card." He looked over at Rikuo, who was pre-occupied watching his long lost tail. "HEY! STARE AT YOUR TAIL LATER!"

Rikuo snarled over at CJ and tapped a button on duel disk. "Fine you big baby. I activate my face-down trap card Pyro Clock of Destiny, which moves the turn count forward by one."

Spirit watched as her Destiny Board groaned and spat out Spirit Letter T. "We now have D, E, A, and T on our field. Was there a purpose to that plan except to strengthen our position?"

CJ nodded. "The card I set face-down needed to have some kind of turn-changing affect go off to trigger. I reveal the trap card Time Sword!" A blade with a clock in the cross-piece appeared and landed in the grasp of CJ's Mystic Knight of Jackal. "This magic card increases the power of my monster by 500 for every turn that has passed since the start of the game. Since this game has been going on for 6 turns thanks to Rikuo's trap, my monster gains 3000 attack points." (8200/1200)

Stone understood what this meant. CJ's monster had enough attack power to wipe out his face-down Labyrinth Screen. (0/4500) And thanks to the ability of CJ's deck master Stone would still take damage even though his monster was in defense mode. ("Spirit, I have failed.")

Spirit tittered within his mind. ("Calm yourself Stone. There is no way that they can knock me down by 8000 life points in one turn. You have done your job.")

CJ pointed at Stone's face-down card. "Now attack with Chrono Holy blast!" The Mystic Knight of Jackal slammed both blades into the ground and sent a blast of gold-green energy into Stone's face-down monster. "And thanks to the ability of my deckmaster, that's the end of you Stone."

Rikuo- 800

CJ- 2800

Spirit- 8000

Stone- 0

Stone nodded solemnly and took a step back off the dueling field.

CJ slid the last card he was holding into his duel disk and nodded to Rikuo. Then he flipped up the other card he had on the field. "I activate the magic card United We Stand! This raises the attack points of my Knight by 800 for every monster on my field. End turn." (9000/2000)

Rikuo drew and smiled. "Ready to lose Spirit?"

Spirit raised an eyebrow and coldly said, "I highly doubt it. Can you wipe me out in one turn?"

Rikuo nodded to CJ. "Show her."

CJ pressed a button on his duel disk. "I activate the trap card Collected Power. This lets me transfer all equipment cards on the field to one target. I choose to transfer all of the cards on my Knight to Rikuo's Wolf Demon Lord. First though I'll choose the order in which they transfer. I'll transfer United We Stand first!" (3200/1800)

"Then I will transfer Time Blade." (6200/1800)

"And for the finale I will transfer Excalibur." (12400/1800)

Spirit looked un-impressed. "I have a monster in defense mode and a trap face-down. High attack power doesn't impress me."

Rikuo looked unconcerned. "Reveal face-down card, Mystical Space Typhoon! This allows me to destroy your face-down trap card."

Spirit narrowed her eyes. "Why aren't you after my Destiny Board?"

Rikuo and CJ nodded together as her face-down card exploded. "Because it isn't necessary. You'll be finished right now." He slid the card he was holding in his hand into his duel disk. "I play the equipment magic card Divided We Fall! When this is equipped to a monster that has United We Stand on it the monster gains 4000 attack points, the ability to deal damage through defense, and to add insult to injury the power to attack twice." The Wolf Demon Lord roared, the very graveyard around them shuddering with the force of its attack power. (16400/1800)

"And now Wolf Demon Lord, show the emissaries that I can win even when my partner is an Ape." He ducked a punch that CJ had thrown at his head. The samurai demon launched in and in two cuts Spirit's face-down monster was destroyed and her life points gone.

Rikuo- 800

CJ- 2800

Spirit- 0

Stone- 0

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Spirit stood there, completely speechless. Her mouth hung open and she stared across the field. She felt her eyes shift into the realm of the spirit world.

Ever since she had been a child she could control the very ghostly spirits around her. Yet this demon before her somehow had overcome what her spirits had told her.

As all of the color around her changed to the ghostly tones of the spirit world, she now saw her opponent for what he really was. She could see the aura of darkness that surrounded him and the power that he possessed that had allowed him to unknowingly win his duel with ease. She fell to her knees and for the first time in ten years she cried. She knew what was coming. She knew he was coming. And he showed no mercy to failures.

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CJ clapped Rikuo on the back. "Good job Daniel...er...Rikuo."

Rikuo would have brushed CJ off of him and told the Ape to shut up, but he was too busy sensing the approach of something. He couldn't pinpoint it though. It seemed so very all-consuming....so dark...so cold...so... ("It's him.")

From within his mind Daniel asked, _("It's who?")_

("Quiet Daniel.")

_("Hey! You called me by my name. I think we're finally starting to bond!")_

("Fine. Whatever. Just shut your thoughts.")

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Emerging from the mid-morning mist, Giovan Garlin tugged on his business suit and made sure his black hair was slicked back. ("No need to present myself as a mess. Especially to some of our honored guests.")

He couldn't help but smile as he considered exactly who he was about to meet. ("The famous Demon General Rikuo Amero. It's been so long I've almost forgotten what he was like.") He scowled as his memories came to him. He knew that for the sake of keeping this meeting in a business-like manner he should shut his thoughts from them....but he wanted to remember just what it had felt like....

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_Sestros chuckled coldly and leaned in near to the dying face of his ex-general. "Such a savage beast you are Rikuo. You weren't ever worthy of anything more than death. I'm just surprised it took so long for you to snap." _

_Rikuo glared back. His heart was starting stop and he knew that in just a few short seconds he would be dead. He didn't have the strength to move his limbs..._

_Sestros leaned in even closer and sneered. "You will die with no honor left. You will regret ever crossing me." He had expected more rage from the dying wolf, but Rikuo suddenly went deathly calm._

"_If there is one...thing you should...remember Sestros..." He murmured the last part._

_Sestros blinked in confusion and leaned in even closer so he could hear what Rikuo had said. That was his last mistake as Rikuo's claw shot up and drove straight into his chest, ripping his heart out. He stared dumbly, eyes wide at the impossible act._

_Rikuo's eyes started to glaze over as he finished his sentence. "...is that...I am strong...and...you...ar..e...w..ea..k..." Rikuo slumped to the ground, followed seconds later by Sestros._

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...Every time that Giovan thought about the act a phantom pain would throb in his chest. He remembered the event all too well. ("This time though Rikuo...The one who will have their heart ripped out is you.") He took one more step and came face to face with his ex-general. It had come down to this. After over 5,000 years he would finally get his revenge on the treacherous dog that had killed him. He would get his revenge and so much more than that. Eternal life and the power of the demon lords would be his.

"Greetings Rikuo. It's been too long hasn't it? But I'm sure no matter how hard you tried you wouldn't be able to forget me."

Rikuo snarled, his claws and fangs bared. "How could I forget you? I try and forget you every time I go to sleep. Yet every dream I have ever had always consisted of one of your thousands of horrible acts from the past. You linger in my memory like a disease."

Giovan Garlin took a deep bow. "That's right Rikuo. The king of blood has returned." His brought his hand up and pointed right at the traitor. "This time though....I will have you whimpering at my knees by the time I am done with you."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The King of Blood and the General of War

Author's notes: Ugh, I had to cut myself off before I put too much into one chapter. That's right ladies and gentlemen the plot thickens. You didn't think that Rikuo's past was going to leave him alone just because Ryo lost to him did you?

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled because the next chapter will soon be on the way.


	20. The King of Torture and The General of W...

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Yugioh. Wish I did. Really...really...really...wish I did.

Chapter 20: The King of Blood and General of War

_Rikuo snarled, his claws and fangs bared. "How could I forget you? I try and forget you every time I go to sleep. Yet every dream I have ever had always consisted of one of your thousands of horrible acts from the past. You linger in my memory like a disease."_

_Giovan Garlin took a deep bow. "That's right Rikuo. The king of blood has returned." His brought his hand up and pointed right at the traitor. "This time though....I will have you whimpering at my knees by the time I am done with you."_

Rikuo lifted his head haughtily. "I'd like to see you try Sestros." He wasn't so sure that the bluff would work, but he had to try. While he might be stronger than any human in existence, he was still a long ways off from his original position of power when he was a complete demon.

Giovan would have responded to Rikuo, but Stone walked up to him and bowed low. Though the giant of a man towered at least a foot above Giovan, at the moment he looked like a child who knew that he was about to be punished.

"Greetings milord. I apologize for our failure against the traitorous general and his friends." Stone's voice was tinged with fear.

Giovan glanced at him and raised his hand up, looking like he was going to pat his Emissary on the back, tell him he had given it his best, and then tell him to take Spirit and return to the castle for further orders.

Wishful thinking.....

Giovan's hand continued to rise until it was in line with Stone's forehead. The larger man didn't even get a chance to ask what his master was doing until it was too late.

Agony burned through his skull, and he felt his entire body quiver and start to break. He howled out in pain and then to the disgust and terror of everyone, Rikuo and Garlin excluded, he exploded in a burst of gore that splattered across everything within ten feet of the explosion.

Rikuo didn't even flinch as a hunk of muscle tissue his suit. He gingerly plucked it free and tossed it aside. "Still as merciless with your lackeys as ever I see."

Garlin, somehow untouched by the gory mess he had created, shrugged casually. "It gets the job done. The Emissaries know I do not tolerate failures amongst my employees."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deondre, CJ, Rebecca, and Amy had already appropriately retched in different areas of the graveyard.

CJ and Deondre were the first to recover, watching the exchange between the two demons with interest. They had tried not to let what they had just seen sink in too much...not yet at least.

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Spirit on the other hand had already let the entire event sink into her brain. She had every intention of running right now. She didn't want to die. Springing to her feet she turned and ran out of the graveyard, tears steaming down her face.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Giovan glanced at the retreating form of one of his Emissaries. "If you would excuse me a moment Rikuo." He lifted his hand up and had it facing palm out at small dot that was Spirit in the distance.

Rikuo watched disinterestedly, though on the inside he was calculating his chances of slitting Sestro's throat from where he was standing. But the demon king was as wise as ever. He never dared to take his attention off of his ex-general. He knew too well what Rikuo was capable of in a desperate situation.

Giovan let a wisp of a dark smile cross his lips. From his palm a small ball of purple-black flames began to develop. "Bang." The ball launched down the path, and in one explosive scream of pain Spirit was gone. Giovan lowered his hand and returned to matching stares with Rikuo.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CJ clenched his fists in anger. There wasn't much he could do at the moment except watch as this business-suited psychopath started killing off his own people.

Deondre shared CJ's sentiments, the two of them both ready to spring against Giovan at a moment's notice if the bastard decided to go after any of them next.

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Rikuo coolly said, "You know, I never understood what your fascination with torture was. It seemed like a waste of a lifetime to me."

Giovan shrugged slightly, not letting any emotions betray his feelings on the situation. "I am what I am. Just like you are what you are. I am the King of Blood, and you are the Dog of War."

Rikuo allowed himself to frown at the use of that hated nickname. "I should kill you for saying that you know."

Giovan sighed tiredly and reached into the content's of his suit, sliding free a jet black duel disk. Slipping the machine onto his arm it clicked into place. "Stop embarrassing yourself with these pitiful bluffs Rikuo. It sickens me to think that you still believe you can match me. My power has not decreased at all since my untimely...demise." He spat the last word out in anger.

Rikuo clicked his duel disk into place. "How about we have a little wager then?"

Giovan raised his eyebrows slightly. "Go on."

Rikuo lifted his upper lip enough to reveal a fang. "The winner of this duel determines the fate of the loser. An all or nothing duel."

Giovan pondered it for a moment and then nodded. "Agreed. Though I suggest you tell your..." He couldn't help but let another wisp of a smile touch his lips, "...friends to leave. This duel won't be like any duel."

Rikuo glanced back at the rest of Team Topdeck. "You heard him. Leave."

CJ growled and stomped forward, nearly screaming at Rikuo. "Like hell we will! You're going to need our help!"

Rikuo fixed him with a glare that stopped him in his tracks. It was the glare a killer. "Leave or I murder you in cold blood."

CJ trembled in rage, but Deondre walked up behind him and patted his shoulder. "He's right. This isn't our battle." CJ make a strangled noise of anger and stomped past Rikuo. He took the longest possible path to get around Giovan.

Amy went next, staring at Rikuo. "Is Daniel really in there?"

Rikuo snorted. "Don't ask stupid questions woman. Go."

Amy glared angrily at him and slapped him on the cheek before stomping right past Giovan, unafraid of the man.

Rebecca came up next. "If you get my brother killed I'll never forgive you." Rikuo snorted again and twisted his head to the side to look away from her. She walked past him and Giovan.

Deondre was last. He looked Rikuo right in the eyes and nodded solemnly. "Don't let him get away with what he did. No one deserves to take a life like that."

Rikuo nodded imperceptibly to him. "Don't worry. He'll pay for what he did soon enough. Make sure that you continue to work towards the finals of the tournament. I will be there."

Deondre gave him one last nod and left. "You'd better."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Giovan waited until Deondre had walked out of sight to begin. He rolled his eyes at Rikuo. "Was it really necessary?"

Rikuo shrugged. "Feh."

Giovan raised his hand again. "And now it is time to begin. Prepare yourself for the power of the Darkness Game."

Rikuo narrowed his eyes. "The what?"

Giovan snapped his fingers and the air around them shifted and changed. "A little trick I picked up in ancient Egypt. Think of it as something like a contract. This way neither of us can escape from our respective fates." The air became misty and a black-purple dome appeared around them.

Rikuo chuckled, "Alright then. So who should begin?"

Giovan drew his five. "Since I am the king I'll begin."

He drew and gave Rikuo a menacing stare. "Do you remember some of my...toys?"

Rikuo sneered. "Who could forget your sick toys? Even for a demon you were considered to be excessively cruel."

Giovan bowed shallowly. "Thank you for your compliments. I'm sure you remember that one device of mine. Can you recall what the Juicer did?"

Rikuo growled. "Is this going anywhere Sestros? Or are you just trying to make me retch?"

Sestros placed a card onto his duel disk face-up. "I summon Torture Machine-Juicer (800/1200) in defense mode." A machine appeared on his field that looked like a trash compactor with legs.

Rikuo glared at the creature. ("Just like him to make cards of his toys.") "Am I supposed to be terrified or something?"

Sestros shrugged. "I loved how this thing worked. Don't you remember how much blood it used to give me for the kitchen? I used to take my most powerful foes as prisoners and crush them into a paste. Quite a delicacy, especially the Dragon demons."

Rikuo bared his fangs. "Stop trying to make it sound like we were friends Sestros. We were enemies and you know it."

Sestros looked thoughtful. "How true that is. Oh well, I suppose I'll just set one card face-down and end my turn."

Rikuo drew and looked his hand over. "You should stop dwelling in the past and look towards the future Sestros. I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode." A blue and yellow robot appeared on the field. "Now attack his demented piece of metal!"

The X-Head Cannon fired a pair of lasers, but right before the beam hit the Juicer opened a pair of fanged jaws and swallowed the energy.

Rikuo stared in confusion. "What the hell was that?"

The Juicer wasn't done though. It lunged across the field and in one chomp swallowed the X-Head Cannon whole. Then it landed on Rikuo's field with a dull thud and sat there, unmoving.

Giovan shook his finger at his opponent. "You shouldn't have been so blood-thirsty Rikuo. My creature attaches to your creature and becomes an equipment magic card for it. In three turns both of our monsters will be sent to the graveyard. Plus your creature is out of reach to you until then."

Rikuo growled and slid two cards into his duel disk. "You won't stop me forever Sestros. End turn."

Giovan drew and calmly slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down and then I'll summon Torture Machine-Flayer (800/1200) in defense mode." A metal table with movable legs appeared.

Rikuo flinched when he saw this device. He remembered it all too well. He quickly hardened his resolve though. It wouldn't suit him to show fear to his opponent. "Thinking to dig up bad memories in me? Think again."

Giovan shrugged. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and felt some drops of sweat trickle down his cheek. He wasn't afraid...but he was tired. He wasn't used to being in control of Daniel's body for so long. ("I need to end this quickly.")

In his skull Daniel whispered out, _("Time to break out the big guns?")_

Rikuo smiled. "I sacrifice my X-Head Cannon to summon...."

Giovan flipped his face-down card. "Denied! I activate the trap card Mask of Restrict. As long as this continuous trap card remains on the field you cannot sacrifice any monsters for any reason."

Rikuo stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. ("That's not good at all.")

_("We don't need to sacrifice monsters to create more powerful ones.")_

Rikuo nodded. "Fine then I'll summon Y-Dragon Head in attack mode." A red mechanical dragon appeared on his field. "Now I'll get rid of your monster."

The dragon unleashed a blast of energy that struck the table. When the smoke cleared though it was unharmed. Creaking, it floated over to Rikuo's field and spat out spiked chains that fastened the Y-Dragon Head to it.

Giovan shook his head sadly. "How did you win all of those wars for me? Like my Torture Machine-Juicer, my Torture Machine-Flayer attaches to whatever monster attacks it. Now each of your standby phases it will begin to slowly peel your monster apart. That means it will lose 1000 attack points every turn."

Rikuo snarled. "End turn."

Giovan drew and flipped up his face-down card. "Next I reveal the trap card Nightmare Wheel. This will put your monster through an extended amount of pain. Since your X-Head Cannon is cut off, I suppose your Y-Dragon Head will have to do." A bone wheel appeared over the Y-Dragon Head. "As long as this continuous trap card remains in play you will lose 500 life points with each passing turn."

Giovan looked his hand over and placed another monster card horizontal and face-up on his disk. "Now I summon Torture Machine-Splicer (500/1400) in defense mode." A metal chair appeared on Giovan's field. "End turn."

Before his hand even reached his cards, Rikuo winced in pain as the Torture Machine-Juicer made compressing noises. Then the Torture Machine-Flayer shot out red hot metal hooks that started to pull the Y-Dragon Head apart. The machine monster screeched in simulated pain as its attack power was dropped. (500/1600)

Then Giovan's Nightmare Wheel started to turn. Rikuo felt pain burn through him as the wheel somehow tore away at his life points and his soul at the same time.

Rikuo- 7500

Giovan- 8000

His breath now coming in ragged gasps, Rikuo drew. ("Now we've got him.") "I summon Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300) in attack mode!" A yellow tank appeared on Rikuo's field. "Now attack his monster!"

The tank fired a laser blast that hit the chair. It took the blast and emerged unharmed and then floated over to Rikuo's field. It shot out leather straps that immediately restrained the Z-Metal Tank and pinned it to the chair.

Giovan sighed tiredly. "You make it too easy. Now each of your standby phases you will also lose the top four cards of your deck."

Rikuo shook his finger at Giovan. "No I won't." When the black-suited man gave a questioning look he yawned casually. "You're deck is scary, but too easy to beat. Yeah I cannot sacrifice monsters, but what about combining them? You see I can fuse X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank together to create a monster of unbelievable power." The three Torture Machine's started to quiver as Rikuo's three creatures were about to break apart and reform to create one of his ultimate creatures, the XYZ Dragon Cannon.

Giovan chuckled coldly. "So that is what you had planned? Sorry, but no chance. I flip up my face-down Fusion Cancel." The three Torture Machines slowly stopped quivering. "As long as this continuous trap remains on the field union and fusion effects are now useless. Therefore you now have three useless monsters on your field. And soon enough the other horrors of my deck will be revealed! Prepare to lose your soul!"

Rikuo summed his feelings on the matter into one word, "Shit."

_To be continued..._

Author's notes: There was too much I could have done with this chapter, but eventually I got around to this. Obviously this isn't over yet, but you have to ask yourself. Now that Rikuo has been locked out from summoning most powerful monsters, can he still win?


	21. The Darkness Game and its consequences

Disclaimer: No I don't own Yugioh.

Chapter 21: The Darkness Game and its consequences

_Giovan chuckled coldly. "So that is what you had planned? Sorry, but no chance. I flip up my face-down Fusion Cancel." The three Torture Machines slowly stopped quivering. "As long as this continuous trap remains on the field union and fusion effects are now useless. Therefore you now have three useless monsters on your field. And soon enough the other horrors of my deck will be revealed! Prepare to lose your soul!"_

_Rikuo summed his feelings on the matter into one word, "Shit."_

Looking his hand over, Rikuo realized that he didn't have a single way to turn this duel around in his favor yet. "I have no choice but to end my turn."

Giovan drew and grinned. "I'll set two cards face-down and one monster in face-down defense." He held up his empty hand. "End turn."

Rikuo braced himself as all of Giovan's Torture Machine's went off. The Torture Machine- Juicer squealed in protest and exploded, taking his X-Head Cannon with it. Then the Torture Machine- Flayer snapped out its red-hot hooks and tore the Y-Dragon Head into a weakly screeching mass of metal. (0/1600)

("Here it comes...") He braced himself as the Nightmare Wheel went off, sending spurts of pain into his very soul. He barely managed to keep a straight face as he felt the wheel tear at him spiritually.

Rikuo- 7000

Giovan- 8000

The final effect went off as Torture Machine- Splicer sent a drill right into the skull of Rikuo's Z-Metal Tank. The yellow mech thrashed around and then finally went still.

Rikuo watched in anger as the top four cards of his deck faded away. ("At this rate he's going to wind up wiping out my deck before I get any farther in this duel.") He drew for his turn and frowned. "I'll set a monster in defense and I'll end my turn."

Giovan drew. "What's the matter Rikuo? Are you tired? Drained? Do you feel like surrendering?"

Rikuo lifted his right hand and gave Giovan the bird. "Piss off Sestros."

Giovan feigned shock. "Such language out of you dear boy! I'll have to teach you a lesson with this special little monster. I summon Torture Master (1000/2000) in defense mode." A man in black leather appeared in a crouching position. He had a whip and was grinning evilly. "As long as this monster remains on the field all life point damage you take from trap effects is doubled. End turn."

Rikuo braced himself as the Nightmare Wheel went off again, and he stumbled this time. No matter how hard he tried now he couldn't fight off the exhaustion that was engulfing him. He was getting more and more tired by the second. His soul was being grinded by the Nightmare Wheel. Considering he had already been in control of Daniel's body for far too long anyway it was starting to wear on him. ("I...need....a way to end this right now.")

Rikuo- 6000

Giovan- 8000

The Torture Machine- Splicer came next, drilling deeper into the head of his Z-Metal Tank. The mech thrashed in pain and then went still. The top four cards of his deck faded.

He drew and smiled weakly. "Sorry Sestros, but I'm about to show you just how weak you really are. Your strategy is nearly flawless. It has one fatal flaw though, and I'm going to exploit said flaw right now. I play Mystical Space Typhoon! This will take out your Mask of Restrict Trap card. Then I can sacrifice my weaker monsters to summon a more powerful one, and that will get rid of your traps too." A sharp wind began to pick up around the Mask of Restrict on Giovan's field.

Giovan shook his head tiredly and flipped his face-down card. "Gods you're predictable. I flip up my face-down Magic Drain trap card. Now you must discard a magic card from your hand is you wish for your Mystical Space Typhoon to still go off."

Rikuo shrugged and slid a card from his hand into his graveyard. "That was easy."

Giovan sneered, "Yes it was. For now I reveal my other face-down card Pain of Loss. It can only be activated when you choose to discard a card from your hand willingly. Now you must discard the rest of your hand!" Even though he had lost his Mask of Restrict, it didn't matter anymore. Rikuo didn't have anything to sacrifice his monsters to.

Snarling in feral anger, Rikuo slid his hand into the graveyard. "End turn."

Giovan drew and looked his field over. "I sacrifice my face-down monster to set a new creature in defense. End turn."

Rikuo braced himself as the jolt of pain from the Nightmare Wheel hit him again.

Rikuo- 5000

Giovan- 8000

Then the Torture Machine- Splicer went off and he growled as another four cards faded off of his deck. He drew and felt like throwing the useless card he had drawn into the graveyard. "End turn."

Giovan drew and sneered as he looked his opponent's field over. "You're finished Rikuo. Your face-down cards are most likely defensive traps, which is something that I have no intention of running into anytime soon, because I am not attacking. As for your single card that you are holding, I can only assume it is a magic card that cannot help you at all." Giovan slapped his new monster down in face-down defense position. "End turn."

Rikuo bit his tongue to avoid crying out in pain from the Nightmare Wheel's effect.

Rikuo- 4000

Giovan- 8000

He already knew what was going to happen next, as the drill from the Torture Machine- Splicer slid into his Z-Metal Tank. After the top four cards of his deck faded he drew. In three turns he would lose because his deck would be empty. In four turns he would lose from the Nightmare Wheel. ("I'm running out of time and these useless cards aren't helping me any.") "End turn."

Giovan drew and grinned. "I end my turn."

Rikuo braced himself as the effects of Giovan's Torture Machine and Nightmare Wheel went off together, draining him of life points and taking cards off the top of his deck. He stumbled weakly, unable to keep up the bravado he had projected before.

Rikuo- 3000

Giovan- 8000

He drew weakly and a smile crossed his lips. "It's good to see you again old friend. We're in trouble aren't we?"

Giovan raised his eyebrow questioningly as his opponent held a conversation with a card.

Rikuo slide his Z-Metal Tank into the graveyard. "Now I'll sacrifice the Z-Metal Tank to summon Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode." The samurai demon that was Rikuo's physical avatar appeared on the field and howled.

Lifting his hand slowly, Rikuo pointed at the Torture Master. "Attack...now..." The Wolf demon lord charged, weapon held up high to slay whoever was threatening its master.

Giovan let that cruel smile of his reach his face. "I activate the trap card Brain Surge. It will destroy your monster and the top five cards of your deck." The Wolf Demon Lord skidded to a stop and howled in pain, right before he exploded into pieces.

Rikuo felt the last of his strength disappear with his favorite monster. He slumped to one knee and with glossed over eyes dropped the other two cards in his hand to the dirt. They were both useless anyway. "End....turn...." ("I've failed.....again.")

Giovan drew and chuckled. "Since you are in such pain I think I'll just end my turn so that my Nightmare Wheel can wipe you out."

Rikuo felt more of his soul destroyed as the Nightmare Wheel that hung above his head turned.

Rikuo- 2000

Giovan- 8000

The drained wolf demon drew off the top of his deck and looked at the card he had picked up. It was blurry to him. His vision was starting to darken.

_("Do you want me to take over?")_

("No......")

Rikuo knew that if he ended his turn that Giovan would most likely pass, just so he could immediately satisfy his hunger for suffering. ("I'll....show....him....")

"I sacrifice.....my....Y-Dragon.....Head.....to summon.....whatever this card is....." Amazingly he still had enough co-ordination to pick up the monster card he was sacrificing and slide it into the graveyard. He one last burst of strength he slapped the monster onto his disk. As it formed he recognized it. "Jinzo. (2400/1500)" He smiled once more before his energy ran out and oblivion claimed him.

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For what seemed like the fiftieth time Deondre had to physically restrain CJ from running all the way back to the graveyard to confront Giovan Garlin.

"Let me go Deondre! We can't let that scumbag get away with taking innocent lives!"

Deondre had his arms holding CJ in a firm full nelson, but at this point he wasn't sure if it was enough. The larger duelist was still matching progress in the direction of the area, Deondre's feet leaving behind furrows in the ground as he got closer and closer. "CJ stop! Think about it! We've already walked for an hour away from the graveyard! We're closer to the castle. Let's just get this tournament over with. Once we are in the finals we will have a free shot at Garlin! Stop!"

CJ slowly stopped moving. As he relaxed Deondre let go of his arms. "You're right Deondre." He turned to look up at the shadowed form of the castle that symbolized the end of this madness with all of these small fish. The big target was above them, not below them. He nodded to no one in particular and charged past Deondre, Amy and Rebecca, leaving dust in his wake as he ran towards the castle screaming, "We're coming to get you Garlin!!"

Deondre sighed and shook his head. "At least he's going in the right direction now."

Amy and Rebecca both nodded. The three turned and continued their march.

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Giovan felt a dark feeling that could almost be considered actual joy go through his body at the sight of the mighty general who had killed him collapsing in defeat. Even as Rikuo hit the ground though, his hair was withdrawing into his skull. Giovan knew the duel wasn't quiet done yet. Rikuo's last act had gotten Jinzo onto the field, and with the trap negating monster in play Giovan would be unable to defend from attacks by monsters anymore.

Daniel slowly came to his feet. He hurt everywhere that it was possible to hurt. The torment that Rikuo's soul had been put through was starting to reflect on their collective body. ("I'm running out of steam and I haven't even played a card yet.") "Alright Garlin, let's see you stop me now. I activate Monster Reborn!" He slid one of the two 'useless' cards from his hand into his duel disk. "Now I'll summon back the Wolf Demon lord!" The demon samurai hit the field and howled, looking almost beyond enraged at the fact that his master had been struck down. "I'll pick up where Rikuo had left off. Jinzo attack the Torture Master and Wolf Demon Lord attack the face-down monster on the right!" The two monsters complied and then Daniel smiled. "Alright, I end my turn."

Giovan stayed expressionless on the outside, though on the inside he was snarling. He knew that Pilkington had only card left in his deck, which meant that he had one turn left. He had seen the boy perform some impossible comebacks though, and this might be one of them. Giovan drew his card and set it in defense mode. Then he placed another card face-down. "End turn." ("Alright boy, let's see you pull out of this duel as the winner.")

Daniel drew and was suddenly very glad that Jinzo had negated the Nightmare Wheel trap card. He very much doubted that he could take the pain of having his soul grinded. Unlike the spirit he shared a body with; he was still an ordinary human. ("Or would I be a half demon now?") He shook himself out of his ponderings and looked his cards over. "Ready to lose Garlin?"

Giovan rolled his eyes. "Don't brag fool."

Daniel shrugged nonchalantly and flipped his face-down card. "I reveal the magic card Replay. At the cost of half of my life points I may use any magic card in my graveyard. I'll use Monster Reborn to revive Barrel Dragon." (2600/2300) A huge metal dragon with three gun barrels for a head and arms appeared on the field.

Daniel- 1000

Giovan- 8000

"Now I'll flip up our face-down monster Reflect Bounder into attack mode." (1700/1000) A machine covered in mirrors appeared on Daniel's field. He slid a card from his hand into the duel disk.

"Now I play Tribute to the Doomed! By discarding the last card in my hand I may destroy one monster on the field." A clawed hand reached up and dragged Giovan's face-down monster into the graveyard.

Giovan's eyes went wide. There was only one way that the boy could win now. ("Let's see if I am right.")

Daniel grinned. "Now I attack with the Wolf Demon Lord. Clear the way for our victory!!" The demon samurai happily obliged, slashing the face-down monster to pieces. "And now that you are wide open Giovan, let me reveal Limiter Removal! This magic card doubles the attack power of all of the machine sub-type monsters on my field.

Jinzo (4800/1500)

Barrel Dragon (5200/2300)

Reflect Bounder (3400/1000)

"Now Jinzo, Cyber Shock attack!" The green armored monster built up a dark ball of energy in between its cupped hands, and then when the ball was properly formed, he hurled it across the field.

Giovan started laughing as the ball headed towards him. "It's been a good game boy. Now that your hopes are so high, it's time to bring them crashing down. I reveal the magic card Dark Wall of Air, protecting me from all direct damage this turn." A wall of black air appeared and blocked Jinzo's attack.

As the darkness ball faded, Daniel stared in mute horror. He collapsed to his knees. ("Just like that...I've lost.") His turn ended and all of his machine monsters exploded, leaving him with only the Wolf Demon Lord on his field.

Giovan drew and without even looking at his card ended his turn.

Daniel had no cards left in his deck. Since he couldn't draw a card he lost the duel. He was so numb with shock that he didn't even hear Garlin's approach. All he could feel was the sadness at having failed, and the understanding that he would never see his friends or family again. ("I won't let myself die honor-less though.") He knew that Rikuo must have been rubbing off on him more then the demon would let on. If this had been a week ago he would have run away screaming in fear, like Spirit had done.

Yet he only felt regret...

Giovan stood in front of him, the ex-demon king sneering down at his fallen adversary. "Are you ready to accept your punishment boy?"

Daniel lifted his head up, chin held high. He knew that tears were streaking his face, but it didn't matter. "I'm ready to face my death."

Giovan raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected the boy to plead with him, or maybe call upon Rikuo for help. He hadn't expected actually be facing the boy when he inflicted out his punishment. "As you wish." His open-palmed hand came in line with Daniel's forehead. "Your life is at its end."

Daniel felt the energy gathering around Giovan's palm and he closed his eyes, praying that it would be a swift and merciful end. ("I'm sorry CJ....Deondre....you two are going to have to pick up where I left off and win the tournament. I'm sorry Amy, for not getting to know you better. Rebecca...I'm sorry....forgive me....") Then all he felt was flame and death as his body was ripped apart.

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Giovan Garlin strolled out of the graveyard whistling a little tune that he had heard on the radio this morning while he had been showering. It was that good of a day. ("Rikuo Amero and Daniel Pilkington are both no more.") He wiped a little bit of blood from his hand and looked at his duel disk appraisingly. ("Since I have unveiled my deck strategy I had better rework it this evening. Tomorrow will be the starting day for the finals of the tournament after all.") He chuckled to himself.

Tomorrow was the day he got to watch the best of the best in the world of Duel Monsters fight it out just to come and meet him, expecting to get their requests fulfilled. Little did they know that this entire tournament was mostly a cover-up for his plan. A plan that no one could interfere with now that his ex-general of war was out of the way.

It had been a perfect day after all....

He found himself whistling that tune again as he disappeared into the mists towards his castle....

_End of Season 1_

Next Chapter: Season 2; Episode 1- Gaining entrance to the Castle of Giovan Garlin


	22. Gaining entrance to the castle of Giovan...

Disclaimer- Nope, don't own Yugioh.

Season 2: Chapter 22- Gaining entrance to the castle of Giovan Garlin

"Different Dimension Dark Magician! (2700/2700) Dimension Magic Attack!" The crystalline blue spellcaster flew across the field and in one flash of crystal blue light Deondre's opponent had lost their monster and the rest of their life points.

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From the side-lines everyone cheered him on, and he couldn't help but smile. They had succeeded in winning the 100 points that was needed to gain entrance that was at the top of The Asylum.

"Why would the Shadow Corporation still call this place The Asylum anyway? Couldn't they have changed the name when they purchased the place?" He re-adjusted his do-rag and tugged on his jersey. He didn't care that much what the place was named. If they had a decent shower and a bed for him then he would praise them for it.

CJ shrugged and tugged his cap lower over his face. "I knew I shouldn't have worn all black." He tugged on his own jersey and sighed in exhaustion. They had been walking for over four hours now. If it hadn't been for the fact that Team Topdeck had been challenged to a duel then they would have still been walking.

"Come on guys we can't stop now! We're almost there!" Amy shouldered her backpack and trudged past them. Though she wouldn't admit it the grey sweater that had kept her warm during the morning was starting to stink. Seeing the castle up ahead, with the good possibility of it having a shower for her to use, drove her on.

Rebecca Pilkington was silent. She had been silent for the entire day, ever since they had left her brother and his "spirit" to duel Giovan Garlin. She looked back down the mountain towards the graveyard zone that they had passed through earlier for maybe the hundredth time today. Every time she looked back at that place it gave her chills, like something was wrong. ("I only hope it is my imagination.")

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Less than an hour later the group of four had made it to the entrance to the castle. The only problem now was figuring out how to get inside the place.

"HEY! OPEN THE GATE!" CJ kicked the door a few times, feeling a little better as he made a racket. If it brought people running to see what the problem was all the better for them.

Deondre shook his head at his team member. "Do you ever act subtle at all?"

CJ responded to that with another echoing clang as he kicked the door again.

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Giovan Garlin watched as CJ Anderson continued to abuse the entrance to his home. He shook his head and looked over to his desk. Pressing a button on his intercom, he sat back and waited. Within mere seconds a voice answered.

"Yes sir?"

Giovan tapped his fingers together eagerly. "Could you please tell Spark to proceed to the front entrance with his deck ready? We have some gate crashers and they need to pass the initiation test before we can allow them in."

"At once sir."

Giovan tapped a button on his desk and brought up a list of the dueling teams that had so far entered through the front gate. Since the limit was eight teams, each one had to pass the initiation test before they were allowed entrance.

Entered Teams

1) Team Domino

2) Team Ancient Duelist

3) Team Emissary

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

So far only three teams have made it past his initiation test and were now entrants. At this rate he would have the quarter finals of the Shadow Corporation tournament underway by tomorrow morning. He allowed himself to show happiness through a smile. It was one of the rare occasions that his plans were coming together without any outside interference. The worst threat would most likely either be from Team Topdeck, because they knew about him and to an extent they knew about his plans, or Team Domino.

In his mind Team Domino was the major threat to his plans. It did have the top three duelists in the world in it. ("Yugi Moto, Seto Kaiba, and Joey Wheeler.") He couldn't help but laugh. Joey Wheeler wouldn't be a threat to his plans at all. Kaiba had the potential to be a problem, but he very much doubted it.

If anyone at the moment worried him, it would have to be Yugi Moto. The boy had caused more than enough trouble in the past. ("Considering he has the spirit of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh within his body though, it can only be expected that he would cause problems.") He wasn't very worried though. He knew of ways to make Moto behave himself during the tournament. After all, his credo was and would always be "Knowledge is a good thing."

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It had been an hour and CJ was so tired that the best he could do was chuck rocks at the door every once in a while.

Deondre had taken a nap on the ground.

Rebecca and Amy both were watching the door.

Finally the thick black steel rolled open and a man in a black cloak stepped forward. Around his arm was a black and silver duel disk.

CJ, recognizing this guy as an Emissary, was immediately back on his feet. He may have been tired, but if this bozo wanted to fight then CJ would be more then willing to comply.

The man snorted at CJ's fighting stance and threw his cloak to the side, revealing orange features and orange eyes. "I am Spark. This will be an official Shadow tournament duel, and you have no choice but to bet all 100 of your dueling points. Do we have a deal?"

CJ opened his mouth, but Amy had already pushed him out of the way and leaped forward. With a grin she nodded. "Team Topdeck accepts your challenge!" CJ just sighed tiredly and hefted himself to his feet.

"So, who wants hot stuff over there?" When no one responded her yawned tiredly and stepped forward. "I guess I'm your opponent."

Spark's disk clicked into place. "Excellent, you should be easy prey for me."

CJ, Amy and Rebecca all rolled their eyes. CJ's disk clicked into place.

"Let's duel!"

Spark flicked his COC across the ground. It bounced a few times and landed on a 4. "All tribute rules to summon higher level monsters have been removed. So are you ready?"

CJ had already drawn his sixth card. "I summon Manticore of Darkness (2300/1200) in attack mode." A winged lion appeared on CJ's field. "Now I'll set two cards face-down and that is the end of my turn."

Spark drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "First I play Death Meteor, dealing you 1000 points of direct damage!" A huge ball of flame appeared over Spark's field and slammed into CJ.

CJ- 7000

Spark- 8000

As the smoke cleared CJ brushed his jersey off. "Anything else?"

Spark scowled at his opponent. "You dare to take me lightly?" CJ rolled his eyes at the stupidity of that question.

"Of course I do. You're just a speed bump on our way to the top."

Spark's right eye started to twitch in rage. "You...you..." He set one monster in defense mode on his duel disk. "End.....turn."

CJ drew and grinned. "I'll begin with the magic card Nobleman of Crossout! This will remove your face-down monster from the game." A man in silver armor appeared on the field and leaped forward, cutting Spark's monster apart.

"Now I'll summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode." The enraged Minotaur monster appeared on CJ's field and snorted, drawing its hoof in the dirt.

CJ slid a card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Wild Nature's Release, which will transfer all of the defense power of my monsters straight into their attack points!"

Manticore of Darkness (3500/0)

Enraged Battle Ox (2700/0)

Spark shivered in fear. He knew he was about to take a lot of pain. At least he knew that he would survive the attack.

CJ saw the look partial relief on Spark's face and shook his head sadly. "Let me make this quick. I need to use the bathroom." He slid a card into his duel disk. "I play Excalibur to double the attack points of my Manticore of Darkness." (7000/0)

Spark's jaw dropped...

CJ waved his hand dismissively at Spark. "Now get out of our way!" The Enraged Battle Ox charged forward and slammed its axe down on Spark's shoulder, brining the Emissary to his knees. Then the Manticore of Darkness launched forward and slammed Excalibur down on the man's back. He let out one cry of pain and then collapsed.

CJ- 7000

Spark- 0

Shuffling his cards up and sliding his deck back into his disk, CJ switched the device back into standby mode. He turned and flashed the victory sign to the girls. "If I am correct that gives us enough points to enter the castle, right?"

Amy smiled and nodded, flashing his victory sign right back.

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Giovan frowned angrily. Not only had his Emissary lost to CJ, but CJ had made the victory look easy. That was unacceptable. If there was one thing Giovan Garlin hated it was weakness amongst his troops. He would have to reprimand Spark for losing so quickly. ("For now though...") He wrote down the name of Team Topdeck in the fourth spot on the list.

He spun around in his chair and looked at his television screen, watching as CJ continued to praise himself for his incredible dueling skills. ("If he thinks his beatdown will work in this tournament, he had best think again.")

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: Now I know this was a really short chapter, but I can't really make any progress yet. As you saw I have three storyline dueling teams in the tournament now, and one submitted team. So please submit your team and help me fill up the roster for the tournament. Then I can continue. Or at least give me a single duelist to use. I have some single duelist characters in my computer who are waiting to be used, but not enough for a team.

Alright, start sending in those entries.


	23. Introducing the Teams

Disclaimer- For the last time I don't own Yugioh! GAH!! Stop asking me!!

Chapter 23: Introducing the contenders

After CJ's defeat of Spark, Team Topdeck had been moved into a large lobby. They had their packs taken to their rooms, and were given their room keys. They had until 7:00 tonight to get ready, and then there would be a special dinner in which they would meet their host.

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Amy sighed as she looked through the closet. It was full of all kinds of exotic dresses and such, but nothing that had the casual charm she loved to show-off. ("Guess I will have to make do.")

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CJ stared at his deck, which he had disassembled and laid out in front of him on the bed. "Alright, now I don't want any of your guys to let up when we duel, alright?"

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Rebecca stared at herself in the mirror. She knew that she was going to have to be ready. If Daniel...didn't make it back in time she would have to take charge and be ready to duel her hardest.

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Deondre sat in front of the window in his room. He looked out at The Asylum and crossed his arms across his chest. "This will be harder than anything I have ever done before. I'm going to have to face the world champion of Duel Monsters." He bowed his head and let his mind wander. He needed to be sure that he could recall every winning strategy his deck had.

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Team Topdeck met in the lobby at 6:30 pm.

CJ had put on a blue-red jersey this time, with a red-blue cap he had found in the closet of his room.

Rebecca was wearing a pair of jeans and a white shirt.

Deondre was wearing his red, black, and white striped jersey, with a white do-rag this time.

Out of all of them Amy was the one who stood out the most. She was wearing a blue dress with silver imprints. The only downside to it was that she had to constantly snap her fingers in front of Deondre and CJ's faces to get their attention off of her body.

They all walked into the dining hall and were beyond amazed. The place had a quality to it that was so unique it was impossible to describe. With the crystal chandeliers, red velvet carpet, and the exquisite paintings on the wall, they couldn't help but feel like they had stepped back in time to the royal dining hall of a king.

The first thing that brought their attention off the beauty of the room was the sounds of an argument coming from the far end of the hall.

"I'm tellin ya Kaiba! I'm gonna be the one to bring this team to the top!" The speaker was a blonde-haired boy in a white shirt and jeans, who was yelling in a Boston accent at a brown-haired man that Rebecca knew all too well.

"Seto Kaiba..." She literally growled the word out. If Daniel was here he would have most likely attacked the young millionaire right there and then.

Kaiba was done getting yelled at by Wheeler. The idiot was wearing on his last nerve. So when the door to the dining hall opened and someone came in, he quickly left his seat to see who it was. He was surprised to see a motley crew of people come in, each of which were wearing casual street clothing, with the exclusion of the woman in the dress. ("Great, most likely a bunch of Wheeler clones.")

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Yugi was already out of his seat and walking up to the new entering group. "Hi there, I'm Yugi Moto." He held out his hand to the staring Deondre.

Deondre continued to stare... ("This is the guy that won the Battle City tournament in Japan? When I saw his picture on the news he looked much more...intense.") He hesitantly took Yugi's hand and shook it firmly. "Deondre Anderson. I'm the second in command of Team Topdeck."

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Joey walked up to CJ and looked him over. Then he clapped his hands together. "Alright ya look skilled enough to be in this tournament, but looking and being are different things."

CJ just glared at Joey for a few seconds, and then tackled him. "I'll show you skilled Blondie!"

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Rebecca and Kaiba spent a few good minutes staring each other down, until finally she broke the silence with, "I won't lose again."

Seto Kaiba grinned. He remembered the girl and her brother all too well. "Yeah right brat."

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The sound of the dining room doors opening again caught their attention. Everyone in the room turned to watch as a two new group of people walked in.

At the head of the first group was long brown-haired young man in a black jacket and jeans. He had a scar across his face that went from his right eyebrow to his right lower cheek. His piercing ice blue sent chills through the spines of almost everyone there, except Kaiba, who just matched his glare.

Right behind him was a girl in a Japanese school uniform. She had long blue hair and green eyes. She smiled warmly to the boys in the room (Kaiba still excluded) as they stared at her.

Stomping in behind he was a brown-haired athletic young man dressed completely in black. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses which covered his face.

The ice-blue eyed man stepped forward and in a distinctly German accent said, "I'm Siegfried Reinhardt, one of the top duelists in Germany. I'm the leader of team Blitz." His tone reflected the same cold tone that accompanied his glare.

The girl bounced past him and bowed awkwardly. "I'm Crystal Simmons!"

The man in black stayed silent until Siegfried coughed sharply. Snarling he slid off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of crimson colored eyes. "Devan Tenaka."

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The second group was led in by a hardened looking dark-skinned man in Egyptian robes. He looked amongst the gathered duelists and slid out of the way so that his companions could get past him.

The next person to come in was a dark-skinned woman in Indian robes. She swept her black hair back and smiled at the collected duelists.

The last member of the group was a bronze-skinned blonde-haired man in a muscle shirt. He threw the ladies in the room a grin and then walked over to join his companions at the table.

The Egyptian man was the first to speak. "I am the leader of Team Ancient Duelist, Akhmed."

The Indian woman spoke up next. "I am Shiria."

The bronze-skinned man spoke last. "Name's Apollo." He threw that wink at the ladies again.

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A gong being rung caught all of their attention. They all turned to see that someone had occupied the head seat of the table.

Rebecca stared. "Giovan Garlin." ("But if he is here then what happened to...Daniel?")

Giovan smiled to his gathered guests. "I'd like to extend my welcome to you all." The dining room doors opened and food was laid out for everyone. "You must pardon the other teams for not arriving yet. Surprisingly enough no one else has made it past my test. That will be quite unfortunate if we must reformat the tournament to allow five teams to play instead of eight."

Yugi chimed in the same thing that had just crossed the mind of everyone else in the room. "Five teams?"

Giovan smiled and took a sip of his wine. "Of course. I have entered my own team into the tournament. Think of it as an added challenge."

Everyone shrugged at that and sat to eat, though Team Topdeck was on their guard for the rest of the night.

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Later that evening, after everyone had eaten dinner, Giovan led them all into a small theater. When they asked him what he was showing them, he simply said, "A surprise."

As soon as everyone had grabbed a seat in the theater, Giovan walked up to the large screen and spun on his heels, bowing. "My apologies, but there will be no popcorn for this movie." He smiled at his own joke, before snapping his fingers. The lights dimmed and the projector turned on. The screen flickered and then everyone was watching what looked to be like the end of a duel. Everyone, after looking the field over, could already see which of the two duelists was winning.

Rebecca watched, eyes wide. ("It's....Daniel...")

"_Now Jinzo, Cyber Shock attack!" The green armored monster built up a dark ball of energy in between its cupped hands, and then when the ball was properly formed, he hurled it across the field. _

_Giovan started laughing as the ball headed towards him. "It's been a good game boy, but now that your hopes are so high, it's time to bring them crashing down. I reveal the magic card Dark Wall of Air, protecting me from all direct damage this turn." A wall of black air appeared and blocked Jinzo's attack._

_As the darkness ball faded, Daniel stared in mute horror. He collapsed to his knees. ("Just like that...I've lost.") His turn ended and all of his machine monsters exploded, leaving him with only the Wolf Demon Lord on his field._

_Giovan drew and without even looking at his card ended his turn. _

_Daniel had no cards left in his deck. Since he couldn't draw a card he lost the duel. He was so numb with shock that he didn't even hear Garlin's approach. All he could feel was the sadness at having failed, and the understanding that he would never see his friends or family again. ("I won't let myself die honor-less though.") He knew that Rikuo must have been rubbing off on him more then the demon would let on. If this had been a week ago he would have run away screaming in fear, like Spirit had done._

_Yet he only felt regret..._

_Giovan stood in front of him, the ex-demon king sneering down at his fallen adversary. "Are you ready to accept your punishment boy?"_

_Daniel lifted his head up, chin held high. He knew that tears were streaking his face, but it didn't matter. "I'm ready to face my death."_

_Giovan raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected the boy to plead with him, or maybe call upon Rikuo for help. He hadn't expected actually be facing the boy when he inflicted out his punishment. "As you wish." His open-palmed hand came in line with Daniel's forehead. "Your life is at its end."_

_Daniel felt the energy gathering around Giovan's palm and he closed his eyes, praying that it would be a swift and merciful end. ("I'm sorry CJ....Deondre....you two are going to have to pick up where I left off and win the tournament. I'm sorry Amy, for not getting to know you better. Rebecca...I'm sorry....forgive me....") Then all he felt was flame and death as his body was ripped apart._

_**Giovan smiled as his opponent was covered in brilliant violet flames. Daniel screamed for what seemed like hours, though in truth it was only a few seconds. **_

_**The camera image lingered on the picture of the burning Daniel, and then lifted up enough to show Giovan's face. He threw a wink at the camera and said, "And with that it's back to you Giovan." The image then died.**_

Giovan smiled and bowed to his recorded image, before the lights came on and he turned to face his crowd.

Everyone stared with looks of horror. Yami (who had taken over for Yugi) glared at Giovan, as did most of the men in the crowd.

The only people who were reacting differently were Amy, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and Rebecca, who had tears in her eyes, though her glare was by far the most murderous.

Finally Kaiba spoke up, "What was the point of showing us that sick little sideshow Garlin!?"

Giovan shrugged. "I felt like showing Team Topdeck what had happened to its captain. Plus Rebecca Pilkington probably should know how her brother had died at my hands." He reached from underneath a pedestal and pulled out a duel disk, throwing it to Rebecca. "This was your brother's girl. I hope you appreciate it." He smiled and bowed once more to his audience. "And with that I take my leave. Sleep well everyone." He walked down the isle, whistling a little tune to himself as he went out the doors of the theater.

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Silence reigned over the theater for at least a minute. Everyone had their eyes on Rebecca, who was looking down at the duel disk and deck within it with the tears in her eyes starting to overflow.

Finally the dam burst and her shoulders heaved as she cried silently.

Yami's face was the first to twist into a scowl. ("I cannot...I will not allow this to happen! Giovan Garlin, you have just earned yourself a new enemy! And by the time I am done you will be wishing that Daniel had beaten you, just so that you could have avoided my wrath!")

Kaiba, for one of the few times in his life, actually felt pity for the girl. ("Giovan Garlin is just like the reports on him said. He's a ruthless killer and twisted soul.")

Joey and CJ as one looked down at their feet. Then as one they hopped up and yelled, "He'll pay!"

The members of team Ancient Duelist and Blitz, while still shocked, understood that they had to take down Giovan if they could.

Deondre's fist clenched so tight that blood dripped from his palm to the red velvet floor. He leaped up in anger and threw his chair against the wall, surprising everyone, even Rebecca. He screamed a couple of times and then looked down tiredly. He whispered, "You said that you could stop him...you said he wouldn't get away with what he did. Yet you blew it Rikuo. Because of you Daniel is dead and that monster still lives." As he spoke his voice rose to an almost screaming tone, "DAMN YOU RIKUO! WHY DIDN'T YOU WIN!?!?!?"

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Giovan Garlin watched all of their respective responses to his little show from his office. He chuckled as he heard Deondre's scream, both on the speakers and from the room itself. ("He didn't win because I was stronger than he was. I am stronger than all of you.") He looked at the cameras that were positioned all across his castle. Still no new teams had arrived. ("They still have until exactly 9:00 am tomorrow though.")

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That evening everyone went to their rooms with a heavy heart and a determined spirit. They were all more than ready to take down Giovan Garlin tomorrow.

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Yugi sat in his room staring at the Millennium Puzzle. ("Do you think we can win Yami?") From within the puzzle he felt his friend's presence nod.

_("I'm more than sure we can win this tournament. We are going to have to use our secret weapons though.")_

Yugi nodded weakly. ("You mean the Egyptian God Cards?")

_("Yes. We must place them into our deck. I know you wanted to try and win the tournament without their assistance, but this tournament no longer just about us anymore. It has gone from a fun, if strange, tournament to a battle. And in a battle you cannot misuse any advantages you have.")_

Yugi opened the golden box that had originally housed the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle and pulled free the three monster cards that were so powerful they could kill their opponent, even if they were holograms. ("Obelisk the Tormentor, The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Slifer the Sky Dragon.") He nodded at each one in turn and slid them into his deck.

_("You had best get some sleep now Yugi. We have a big day tomorrow.")_

Putting his deck back into his duel disk, he laid his head on the pillow of his bed and nodded to the Millennium Puzzle. ("Good night Yami.")

_("Good night Yugi.")_

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Rebecca looked her deck over and then placed it on her writing desk. She had just finished looking over Daniel's deck and taking it apart. She had put some of his best cards into her deck. Now she was confident she could win this tournament. ("I will not let you die for nothing Daniel!") As she lay down to sleep that night she shed no more tears. Now was not the time to mourn...

Now was the time for revenge...

_To be continued..._

Next chapter: Team Domino vs. Team.....

Author's notes: I left the end of the next chapter part blank to surprise you. Keep sending in your teams though. As you can see me not getting any more dueling teams is going to affect the storyline. So if you have either a dueling team or just an OC you want to see in the story, please post it in a review or just e-mail me.


	24. Team Domino vs Team Ancient Duelist

Disclaimer: Holds up a sign "For the last freakin time I don't own Yugioh."

Chapter 24: Team Domino vs. Team.......

("Another beautiful day on The Asylum,") Giovan Garlin stretched and took a deep breath of the clean air of his privately owned island. Today was the day of the tournament, and luckily enough for him another three dueling teams had arrived overnight to his castle. They had all passed the test and were sent immediately to their rooms to sleep. ("Now the tournament is full, and we are ready to begin the festivities.") He looked at the clock on the wall back inside his office and noticed that it was only 4:00 am. ("Alright, perhaps I'll let them sleep a little longer. It would be rather cruel to not give them their rest. I want them to be at their freshest when I plunge them all into hell.")

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Rebecca woke up an hour later, looking out at the sun-rise with determination shining in her eyes. She looked her deck over and nodded to herself. ("Today is the day that I step out from under my big brother's shadow. Today is the day I show everyone just how powerful of a duelist I really am. Today is the day that Giovan Garlin pays for what he has done.") She felt tears develop in the corners of her eyes as she looked upon Daniel's Jinzo.

("Sorry Jinzo, but....your master won't be coming to claim you anytime soon. Forgive me, but I'm going to have to draft you onto my team.") She knew it was silly acting like the card could understand her, but Daniel had always treated his Jinzo like it was a living thing, and the monster never let him down.

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Deondre woke up just fifteen minutes after that. He showered quickly and then collapsed in a chair next to the desk that he had his deck sitting on. Looking the cards over, he nodded grimly to the spirit of his friend. ("You may not have been able to pull off a win against Garlin, but don't worry about it Daniel. I'll make sure he pays for what he has done.")

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The next person to awaken was Yami, who took over Yugi's body and got himself ready for today. He had come with Yugi expecting to have a fun and enjoyable tournament for them to unwind with. When Garlin had shown them the footage of him killing Rebecca Pilkington's brother though.... ("I will make you pay Garlin. You're just as much of a monster as Marik and Pegasus were. They could reform though, because they never killed someone because of a duel. You though....") Giovan Garlin was not going to walk away from this tournament. Yami wouldn't let him get away.

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Seto Kaiba awoke to his laptop's alarm clock going off. After he had showered and brushed his teeth, he went back to his desk and looked his deck over. He had been up all night gathering data on all of Team Domino's possible opponents. Thanks to his foresight their chances of winning this tournament were far over 75 now.

There was one factor though that kept throwing off his computer...

Giovan Garlin was going to be dueling in this tournament, and when you duel a man who has the power to have his own cards be created you know that you have to be careful. Kaiba also didn't know what kind of deck Garlin ran. He couldn't assume anything at all about the psychopath's strategies. ("Looks like I'll have to wing it when I face him.") While he didn't like going into a battle without knowing at least a little about his opponent, he certainly wasn't going to not battle Garlin.

It wasn't that he cared that the brat's brother had been killed. It was the fact that Garlin thought he was so powerful that he could show them that footage and not expect to get in trouble with the law. ("I could just call the police and let them deal with it, but first I'm going to wipe that smug smile off of Giovan Garlin's face.")

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All of the duelists had come down from their respective rooms for breakfast, which was being served in the dining hall that had housed their dinner last night. Everyone ate in silence, each of them pondering their own strategies and what they were going to wish for if they won.

Then the gong sounded to signal that breakfast had ended and almost as one the dueling teams stood up and walked off to the lobby. There was no turning back now.

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"Welcome duelists!" Giovan Garlin bowed to them all from his seat above the enormous dueling arena that he had constructed in his castle. His slick black hair glistened in the dim light of the torches that lined the walls. He was wearing his customary black business suit. The only thing everyone could see was his face. It was the face of a snake waiting for its chance to strike. "I hope everyone slept alright?" When no one answered him he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and murmured, "Tough crowd."

"Enough jokes Garlin!" Yami yelled from down amongst the assembled duelists. Some of them nodded in assent, while others didn't withdraw their eyes from the demon of a man that sat 20' feet above them.

Garlin rolled his eyes. "Gods you are a spoil-sport Pharaoh. Very well then! The Finals of the Shadow Tournament begin now!" As he said this the ground around them all began to rumble loudly. The center of the arena lifted a little bit off the ground and started to hum. "As you can see the initial dueling arena is in the center of the ring. We will not be using the COC rules system for these duels. We will be using the COCs themselves though."

"How so?" Deondre asked cautiously.

Garlin narrowed his eyes coldly at the speaker. "Do not interrupt me while I am speaking boy."

Deondre didn't back down an inch.

Garlin shrugged off the boy's insolence for now. ("I'll just make his death more painful than normal.") "Each member of the dueling teams has a dueling number assigned to them. When the teams face off the COCs are rolled and the number that comes up indicates which two duelists on those teams will face each other. The rounds will be best two out of three matches. The winner will move onto the next part of the finals and the losers will be dismissed. Otherwise this will be a normal duel." Everyone nodded and Garlin snapped his fingers. A digital board rolled down from the ceiling and started to flicker with each of the team names. "And the first match-up will be...." The first name froze in place, "Team Domino vs...." The spinner stopped on another name. "Team Ancient Duelist."

The other teams got clear of the dueling arena and the members of Team Domino and Team Ancient Duelist took their positions on the field.

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Up in his seat Giovan Garlin watched the unfolding events with great interest. ("Now I wonder which member of Team Domino will go first. Maybe Joey? Or perhaps Yugi?") It didn't really matter that much to him. He knew the outcome of these duels already. ("The only outcome is that in the end I will be the winner.") He stifled a laugh as he watched the two team leaders, Yugi and Akhmed, get ready to roll the COCs to determine who played who.

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The dice bounced around wildly on the ground and finally came to a stop.

Yugi's COC was a three.

Ahkmed's was also a three.

Team Domino vs. Team Ancient Duelist- Match 1

Seto Kaiba vs. Akhmed

Kaiba sighed and stepped forward, his duel disk into place. "This should be a perfect waste of my time."

Akhmed's disk clicked into place as well, while the rest of the members of both teams got clear. "If I were you Kaiba I would not under-estimate my opponent."

Kabia grinned and drew his five cards, and then his sixth. "Then you don't mind if I go first?" When Ahkmed shook his head in consent, Kaiba went from arrogant to simply cold. "Then let me start us off with Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode." A hideous monster wielding a curved sword appeared, licking the blade of its weapon in anticipation. "Then I'll set two cards face-down and I will end my turn."

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Giovan rolled his eyes. ("I bet my entire fortune that Kaiba just set Ring of Destruction and Ring of Defense, or Shrink and Deck Destruction Virus.")

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Ahkmed drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "If you expect me to attack Kaiba then you truly are under-estimating me far too much. I activate the magic card Heavy Storm to sweep all magic and trap cards off the field." A heavy wind picked up, but then it suddenly died down.

Kaiba had flipped up his face-down card. "Do you think I'm so out of practice that I would use the same stale old moves more than a couple of times. For that you're going to have to pay. I play the trap card Spell Shield Type 8. By discarding a card from my hand I will negate your Heavy Storm!" He slid a card from his hand into the graveyard and then a white machine with lots of mirrors appeared on his field. It spun rapidly and then exploded, taking Akhmed's magic card with it.

Akhmed looked his hand over and set one monster face-down, and then two cards face-down. "End turn."

Kaiba drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "Now I activate the magic card Nobleman of Crossout, which will remove your face-down monster from play." A man in silver armor appeared and leaped across the field, slashing Akhmed's creature in half.

Then Kaiba slapped a new monster onto his duel disk. "Now I summon Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode!" A giant Minotaur wielding a large axe appeared and snorted in anger. "And now both of my monsters will attack!" The two monsters flew across the field and slammed into Akhmed, sending him skidding backwards across the dueling arena.

Kaiba- 8000

Ahkmed- 4400

Kaiba slid a card into his duel disk. "End turn."

Ahkmed drew and popped open his field magic card slot. "I play the field magic card Necrovalley!" The ground around the two of them shuddered, and holographic stone sprung up all around them, leaving the two cut off from everyone on the ground floor. The only person unaffected by the scenery change was Giovan, whose aerial view could not be impeded.

Ahkmed continued with his explanation unabated by the shuddering of the ground. "As long as Necrovalley is on the field all monsters with the title Gravekeeper will get a 500 point attack and defense bonus." He slapped a monster onto his disk. "Now prepare yourself for my Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (2000/1500) in attack mode." An Egyptian in black robes appeared and lifted a spear, pointing it at Kaiba. "Now attack his Battle Ox!"

Kaiba sneered. "I reveal my face-down card, Ring of Destruction! This will destroy your monster and deal us both its attack in life point damage." A ring appeared around the Spear Soldier's neck. As the ring exploded the stone walls around them seemed to groan in protest.

Kaiba- 6000

Akhmed- 2200

Ahkmed looked his hand over once more and sighed. "I end my turn."

Kaiba drew and shook his head. "This is sad. How did you make all of this way with such pitiful dueling skills?" When Akhmed didn't respond Kaiba slid his two monsters into the graveyard. "Well let me take you out with a bang at least. I summon my all-powerful Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack mode!" The huge white scaled dragon appeared and roared at Akhmed, the stone walls of the Necrovalley shaking around him.

The Egyptian man watched the creature with appraising eyes. "I must admit, I am impressed."

Kaiba nodded. "As you should be. Now Blue-eyes end it! Burst Stream!" The dragon charged up a huge lump of energy in its muzzle and fired. Right before the attack hit though Akhmed flipped up his face-down card. "I play Rite of Spirit! This allows me to revive one Gravekeeper monster from the graveyard to the field. I recall my Spear Soldier." The Spearman reappeared and sneered at the approaching Burst Stream.

Ahkmed flipped his other card. "Next I'll play Gravekeeper's Gathering. This trap will reduce the attack power of all monsters on your field 1000 points for every Gravekeeper monster I have on my field." The Spear Soldier howled and leapt through the Burst Stream, slamming into Kaiba's dragon. The two wrestled for a moment before both exploded into dust.

Kaiba allowed himself a small smile. "You think that will slow me down? I play Monster Reborn to revive my Blue-eyes White Dragon from the graveyard!"

Nothing happened.

Akhmed chuckled. "I suppose I should have told you the other special ability of my Necrovalley card. As long as it remains on the field all effects that revive monsters from the graveyard will not work. The only exception to that rule is Rite of Spirit."

Kaiba glared at his opponent. Now he had no cards on his field or in his hand. "End turn."

Akhmed drew and slapped a monster from his duel disk onto the field. "I summon Gravekeeper's Cannon Holder (1900/1400) in attack mode." A black-robed man carrying a wooden cannon appeared and aimed it at Kaiba. "Now attack!" The man lit the back of his cannon and it shot out a blast that struck Kaiba and sent him sliding backwards in pain.

Kaiba- 4100

Akhmed- 2200

"End turn."

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Garlin snickered down at Seto Kaiba. ("It looks like the little spoiled brat is in for more trouble than he thought.")

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Kaiba drew and sighed in relief. "I play the magic card Card of Demise! This lets me draw until I hold five cards in my hand. The only downside is that in five turns I lose my entire hand, but I somehow doubt that will be a problem by the time I am done." He drew five cards and nodded to himself. "Prepare to lose. First I play Heavy Storm, which destroys your pitiful Necrovalley." A heavy wind picked up and the stone walls around them shuddered and then exploded into dirt.

Ahkmed blanched as his Cannon Holder lost attack points. (1400/900)

Kaiba slide a card from his hand into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Premature Burial. At the cost of 800 life points I may revive one monster from my graveyard. Come forth Blue-eyes White Dragon!" The earth shuddered and then the enormous monster that was Kaiba's trademark creature appeared. "Now for the finale I summon Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) in attack mode." The harpoon wielding monster appeared and flew across the field, cutting Akhmed's monster down.

Kaiba: 4100

Akhmed: 1900

Akhmed bowed his head. "I have lost. Finish it Seto Kaiba."

Kaiba sneered. "Oh I intend to! Blue-eyes White Dragon, attack with Burst Stream!" The dragon powered up another lump of energy that instantly engulfed Akhmed.

Kaiba- 4100

Akhmed- 0

As the ring lowered back to ground level Kaiba found himself surrounded by applause. He snorted and mentioned something about how that wasn't worthy of applause, and then he stepped off the dueling arena.

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Giovan stood up from his seat and broke out into applause. As everyone looked up at him he slowly came to a stop and said, "Excellent job Seto Kaiba. That was quite an impressive duel you just had. Of course it remains to be seen whether your two partners can pull off a success for you." He sat back down into his seat and nodded down at them. "Begin the next match!"

Yugi turned to look at Akhmed and they both as one threw their COCs.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Conquering the Myth

Author's notes: The beauty of sarcasm is eternal. Keep sending in those teams for me. I know this says that I have them, but I still lack three teams for the finals.


	25. Conquering the Myth

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Yugioh. Stop asking me about it.

Chapter 25: Conquering the Myth

_Yugi turned to look at Akhmed and they both as one threw their COCs._

Akhmed's landed on a five.

Yugi's landed on a one.

Joey snapped his fingers. "Oh well, I guess I'll get em in the next round. Take him down Yug." He turned and walked off the field.

Akhmed looked to Apollo and then back to Yugi. "Duel your hardest friend."

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Giovan stood up and raised his hand. "Let the second match begin. Yugi Moto vs. Apollo!"

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Yugi drew and slapped a monster down. "I summon Queen's Knight (1500/1300) in defense mode." A woman in knight's armor appeared on his field in a crouching position.

Yugi slid a card into his duel disk. "I'll set this face-down and end my turn."

Apollo drew and slapped down his own monster. "I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (1800/800) in attack mode." A man in monk's robes wearing a purple black mask appeared on the field and bowed to Yugi. "Now Kycoo, attack with Banishment Ofuda!" Kycoo threw a slip of paper with symbols written upon it across the field. It hit Yugi's Queen Knight in the head and she shimmered with bright light, and then exploded into dust. "End turn."

Yugi drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Monster Reborn, to revive Queen's Knight to the field in attack mode." The female knight reappeared, sword drawn and ready for battle.

Apollo raised one of his blonde eyebrows in surprise. "What purpose did that serve? She's not tough enough to beat my monster."

Yugi smiled a little and slapped a monster onto the duel disk next to his first knight. "I now summon King's Knight (1500/1600) in attack mode." A man with a blond beard in knight armor appeared next to the Queen's Knight, his own sword drawn. "This triggers the special ability of King's Knight. When I have a Queen's Knight on the field and I summon King's Knight, I may then summon Jack's Knight from my deck to the field." He popped his deck free and searched it over, finally finding the monster he was searching for. He placed it down next to the other two knights. "I summon Jack's Knight (1900/1400) in attack mode!" A tall man in knight's armor appeared next to the King's Knight.

Apollo's eyes went wide. It was the second turn and his opponent already had three monsters on the field. ("He's a fast player that is for sure.")

Yugi pointed at the Kycoo. "Jack's Knight attack!" The knight flew across the field and slashed Kycoo down.

Yugi- 8000

Apollo- 7900

"Then I follow up with a double team attack from both King's Knight and Queen's Knight!" The two knights flew in right past the Jack's Knight and slammed their swords down on both of Apollo's shoulder blades, brining him to his knees.

Yugi- 8000

Apollo- 4900

Yugi slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I will finish with this card set face-down. End turn."

Apollo drew and slid two cards into his disk and placed a monster on the top of his disk. "I set two cards face-down and a monster in defense. End turn."

Yugi drew and nodded to Apollo. "It has been fun but I have things to do. My apologies for doing this to you but I must move on to face Garlin. First I will play the magic card Nobleman of Crossout! This will cut your face-down monster out of existence and leave you wide open to attack." A man in silver armor appeared and flew across the field, only to slam into a glowing wall.

Apollo flipped up his face-down card. "I activate the trap card Riryoku Field. This will negate any magic card that targets a monster as its target."

Yugi frowned. "Perhaps it is not the end, but you are still in trouble friend." His hand reached across the top of his disk and started to pick up each of his knights one at a time.

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Giovan Garlin was standing up in his seat now, his eyes eagerly watching the field. ("Here it is. Here is what I have been waiting for. Show me Yugi...show me the power of god!")

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Yugi slid his three knights into the graveyard and pulled one of the two cards in his hand free. "I sacrifice my three monsters to summon the Egyptian God Obelisk the Tormentor (4000/4000) to the field! Come forth Obelisk!"

The air above the ring started to glow a bright blue light. Then in one thunderous blast Obelisk appeared on the field. The monster stood at least 50', its blue skin creating strange reflections of the torch light. It flexed its huge muscles and brought its crimson eyes down to glare at Apollo, steam spraying out of its teeth.

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Garlin felt his hands tremble in excitement. ("One of the ultimate engines of destruction...")

Apollo had to take a step back as Obelisk roared, the force of the blast throwing everyone at ground level to the ground.

Garlin felt his hungry smile take in his ears. He knew that his disguise was starting to slip, because he could feel his fangs. It didn't matter to him though. Standing before him was part of the key to ultimate power. ("The first of the three...")

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Yugi pointed at Apollo's face-down monster. "Obelisk attack with Fist of Fate!" The titanic beast brought one clenched fist down and crushed Apollo's monster in one hit. There was a flash of light that engulfed the field, and when it cleared Yugi found himself staring at a completely empty field. His hand was gone too. "What...what happened?"

Apollo smiled and drew a new hand of five cards. "What happened is that you attacked my Fiber Jar. (500/500) When this monster is flipped we both re-shuffle our hands, fields and graveyards back into our decks and start with a new five card hand."

Yugi drew his new five cards and paled. ("I've already summoned a monster this turn. I'm wide open.") He slid two cards from his hand into his duel disk and sighed. "End turn."

Apollo drew and slid a card into his disk. "I play the magic card Cheerful Coffin to allow me to discard up to three monsters from my hand into the graveyard." He picked up only one card and slid it into his graveyard. "Now I play the magic card Monster Reborn to revive the Airknight Parshath (1900/1400) that I discarded." A white centaur with a sword and shield appeared on the field and whinnied. "Now Airknight Parshath attack Yugi's life points directly!" The monster lifted his sword and charged across the field, weapon drawn up to strike down Yugi.

Right before the weapon could land though a glowing circle appeared around the Airknight, freezing it in place and reducing its attack points. (1200/1400)

Yugi held up his trap card. "You triggered my Spell-binding Circle trap card. This will prevent your monster from switching modes or attacking. It will also reduce his attack by 700 points."

Apollo slid one of his cards into his disk and nodded weakly. "End turn."

Yugi drew and grinned. "I promise you that this hurt. First I flip up my face-down magic card Mystical Space Typhoon, which will destroy your face-down card instantly." A sharp wind blew Apollo's face-down card off of the field. Then he slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "Now I play Polymerization! This allows me to fuse two monsters in my hand or field together to form a much more powerful beast. I shall combine the Buster Blader (2600/2300) and Dark Magician (2500/2100) to create the Dark Paladin!" (2900/2400) A version of the Dark Magician wearing black and orange armor appeared on field and snapped his new sword back and forth, testing its weight. Then Yugi pointed at the Airknight Parshath. "Dark Paladin attack now!"

The spellcaster shot across the field and in one slice Apollo's monster was gone.

Yugi- 8000

Apollo- 3200

Yugi nodded to Apollo. "End turn."

Apollo drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "Try this then Yugi! I will activate Tribute to the Doomed!" He slid a card in his hand into the graveyard. "This will allow me to destroy one monster on your field." From within the holographic projection of the card dozens of wrappings shot out and stretched across the field to destroy the Dark Paladin. Right before it hit him though he snapped his sword out and in a couple of hits the wrappings were no more.

Apollo's eyes were wide. "How did you do that?"

Yugi slid the last card in his hand into the graveyard. "By using the effect of my Dark Paladin. By discarding one card from my hand I may negate any magic card as long as he is on the field."

Apollo looked his hand over and nodded to himself. "Since you have no cards you cannot stop me from playing this then." He slid a magic card into his disk. "I activate the magic card Offerings to the Doomed. This will destroy your monster, and all it will cost me is the ability to draw a card next turn." There was a blast of red light and Yugi's Dark Paladin exploded into flames.

Apollo slapped a monster onto his duel disk. "Now brace yourself for the power of my rarest monster! I summon Myth Speaker (200/1500) in defense mode." A man in a toga holding a harp appeared. "Now every one of my standby phases I may special summon one monster from my deck to the field instead of drawing that turn. You will not be able to win against me once I have summoned my most powerful beasts Yugi. End turn."

Yugi looked at his empty hand and field. He knew that Apollo was speaking the truth. If he couldn't draw the necessary card to get rid of the Myth Speaker right now, it would be the end of this duel. ("While that doesn't mean the end of the tournament...I cannot fail.") He took a deep breath and called upon the Heart of the Cards. ("Please let it be enough.") His hand snapped the top card off of his deck, and he slowly opened his eyes to look at it.")

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Givan Garlin watched in amazement as Yugi drew. He could feel the sheer power that was now radiating off of the pharaoh. ("So he is tapping into his full power hmm?") Garlin rested his head on one propped hand. ("Let's see if the rumors about your 'luck' are true Moto.")

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Yugi opened his eyes and a smile crossed his lips. ("Perfect timing.")

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Garlin couldn't help but whistle in amazement. ("I must admit, that is impressive.")

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Yugi slid the card he had drawn into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Snatch Steal. I will now permanently seize control of your Myth Speaker." A giant hand appeared and grabbed the Myth Speaker, bringing him over to Yugi's field. "The only downside is that every turn you gain 1000 life points. End turn."

Apollo stared in horror at his deck. Thanks to his own Offerings to the Doomed card he could not draw this turn. And since he had no cards in his hand..."End turn."

Yugi- 8000

Apollo- 4200

Yugi grinned and didn't draw, as per the effect of the Myth Speaker. "Now I'll use the effect of your Myth Speaker to summon forth an old friend! Arise Obelisk the Tormentor!" With a single screaming roar the blue giant reappeared on Yugi's field. It looked at Apollo and growled low, cracking its knuckles in anger.

Apollo stumbled back in fear. His own card was being used against him now.

Yugi pointed at Apollo. "Now I switch your monster to attack mode! Obelisk the Tormentor, attack with Fist of Fate!" The Egyptian God Card threw its fist back and then brought it slamming down on Apollo, nearly tossing him out of the ring. "And for the finish, Myth Speaker attack!" The man fitted an arrow to his harp and released it, the golden shaft slamming into Apollo's chest and bringing him to the ground.

Yugi- 8000

Apollo- 0

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Giovan stood up and applauded. "Excellent play Yugi! That truly showed why you are the King of Games!"

Yugi looked up at Garlin and growled. Floating right behind him Obelisk sprayed steam out of its mouth. "Do not speak your honeyed words to me Garlin! Don't forget by the time we reach the end of this tournament that you will be the one staring down the wrath of Obelisk the Tormentor!"

Giovan looked the blue giant over and chuckled. "Don't worry little pharaoh, I won't forget." He looked out at the other assembled duelists. "And that means that Yugi Moto had achieved the second win for Team Domino. They proceed onto the semi-finals!" The holographic dueling field shut down and Obelisk disappeared.

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Apollo walked up to Yugi, glanced up at Garlin, and then smiled. "Keep the Myth Speaker. You will need him to help you win this tournament." He saluted Yugi and walked off to join the rest of his team. As one they said their good-byes and left the arena.

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Off on the side-lines Amy waved her hand in front of CJ's face again. Once more she didn't get any response from him at all. "Earth to CJ! Wake up!"

He continued to stare at the field. Finally he started to blink, and then he rubbed his eyes.

Rebecca rolled hey eyes. "Sheesh, to think Obelisk the Tormentor scared him that much."

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Giovan waved his hand in front of the screen and it started to flicker with the names of the remaining six dueling teams. "Now for the next round!" The machine flickered a few times and then finally stopped on....

_To be continued..._

Nect Chapter: The second round of the quarter-finals: Teams vs. Team


	26. Team Blitz vs Team Odds

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 26: The second round of the quarterfinals- Team Blitz vs. Team Odds

Giovan waved his hand in front of the screen and it started to flicker with the names of the remaining six dueling teams. "Now for the next round!" The machine flickered a few times and then finally stopped on Team Blitz.

It started up again and then came to a stop at Team Odds.

Giovan nodded and waved out to the other duelists. "Alright then, will the appropriate teams please proceed to the dueling arena?"

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Siegfried, Devan and Crystal stepped up onto the arena and looked their three new opponents over.

The leader of the group was a man in a red business suit similar to Giovan's. His black hair was tied into a pony-tail and when he smiled a couple of glints of gold could be seen.

The second member of Team Odds was a man wearing thick coke-bottle glasses and a white sweater. He had a flat-top of blond hair and he was giving Team Blitz just as bad of an once-over as they were giving him.

The third member of the team didn't seem to belong at all amongst the serious duelists at all. He was wearing a blue polyester suit, blue suede shoes, a black belt with golden buckle, and his black hair was done up in a style that reminded Siegfried of a bird's nest. He threw the victory sign to his opponents and then showed off his duel disk, which was embedded with rhinestones.

The man in the business suit nodded to Siegfried. "Let's have a good game, shall we?" His smile was the kind of false smile that Siegfried had seen in far too many cheaters in his life-time.

Siegfried didn't even respond to the man. He took his COC and threw it. It bounced around and then finally landed on a three. From behind him he heard Devan's duel disk already clicking into place. He twisted his head just enough to give Devan a look that told him to control himself.

Devan snorted and stepped past his team leader to walk onto the actual dueling ring. "Don't worry I know what I am doing."

The man in the business suit threw his COC next. It came to a stop on a six. He groaned and grinded his face into his hand as the man in the polyester suit danced up into the ring.

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Devan looked his opponent over and laughed sharply. "This is sad. You expect to defeat me pretty boy?" The last part of his sentence dripped with sarcasm.

The man clicked his disk into place and snapped his fingers. "Just watch as lady luck blesses me and you find yourself out on the street, kid."

Devan growled, already feeling his control slipping. A sharp cough from the side-lines by Siegfried brought him back. He looked over at his team captain. "You think you could stand this annoyance any better than I could?" When Siegfried didn't answer the question he looked back to his opponent and frowned. "Fine, I'll take him out in the dueling arena."

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Giovan lifted his hand into the air and dropped it. "First match of round two: Devan vs. Blackjack! Begin!"

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Devan drew his five cards and then his sixth. "Let me begin with the big guns. I discard Thunder Dragon (1600/1500) to search my deck for two more copies of itself." He slid the monster card into his graveyard and searched his deck for two more.

After placing the two new Thunder Dragons into his hand he slid a card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Polymerization to fuse my two Thunder Dragons together to create the Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100) in attack mode." A large red dragon with two heads appeared on his field. "Now I'll set two cards face-down and I'll end my turn."

Blackjack drew and slid a card into his duel disk. On his field a large number seven appeared. "Let me start this floor show off with the magic card 7. Once I get three of these babies on the field it will be payday."

Behind his sunglasses Devan rolled his eyes. ("Please may the gods give me the patience to survive this fool?")

Blackjack slid two cards into his duel disc and then slapped a monster onto his field. "I summon the Sand Gambler (300/1600) in attack mode." A man in a black vest and pants appeared on the field, flipping three golden coins in his hand. "Now it's time to see if lady luck is gonna grant me a favor. You see if his three coins land on all heads then all of the monsters on your field are destroyed. Of course if all of his coins land on tails then all of my monsters are destroyed." The gambler threw his three coins into the air.

The first coin came down on a tails.

The second coin came down on a tails.

The third coin came down on a heads.

Devan shook his head. "I hope you enjoyed that, because believe me stupid moves such as the one you just tried are the kinds of weakness I love to prey upon."

Blackjack snapped his fingers again. "You like to listen to yourself talk don't you? End turn."

Devan drew and slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and attack with my Twin-headed Thunder Dragon!" The red dual-headed charged up a double stream of electrical energy and shot it at Blackjack's Sand Gambler.

As the blast approached Blackjack flipped his first face-down card. "I reveal the magic card Graceful Dice!" A fairy holding a blue die appeared behind the Sand Gambler. "Now this little guy will roll his die and multiply my monster's attack strength by the number rolled." The fairy tossed its die and the blue cube bounced until it landed on a six. (1800/1600)

Devan snorted in disgust. "What a pitiful attempt to reduce damage to yourself."

Blackjack flipped his over face-down card. "Now that I know Graceful Dice was a success reveal Skull Dice!" A black imp holding a red die appeared on the field. "This monster will roll its die and your monsters attack power will be divided by the number rolled." The imp threw the die and it came to stop on a five.

Devan's eyes went wide as his monster suddenly decreased to one-fifth its size. (560/2100)

Blackjack pointed at the now pitiful lightning blast. "That's it for you! Sand Gambler, attack with Royal Flush strike!" The Gambler reached into his pocket and pulled out some playing cards. He grabbed five and threw them. They cut through the lightning blast easily and each one cut with the sharpness of a throwing knife, cutting the Twin-headed Thunder Dragon to pieces.

Devan- 6760

Blackjack- 8000

Devan slapped a monster onto his disk. "I set one monster and end my turn."

Blackjack drew and snapped his fingers again. "Go Sand Gambler!" The man threw his coins into the air. They came down on two tails and a heads. He clicked his tongue against his teeth and slid two new cards face-down. Then he placed another 7 magic card into place on his field. "End turn."

Devan drew. "I play Monster Reborn to revive Twin-headed Thunder Dragon in attack mode." The red two-headed reappeared and roared. "Now attack with Double Lightning blast!" The creature complied, building up another wave of electricity that it spat out at Blackjack.

"Time to play a little game of whack a gambler!" Blackjack pressed a button on his duel disk. "I activate the continuous trap card Fairy Box." A large box with numerous holes of top of it appeared on the field and sucked the Sand Gambler into it.

Devan pressed a button on his disk and flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Not if I can stop you before-hand. I activate the magic card Remove Trap. This will destroy your Fairy Box and leave your Gambler very open to my attack." The box shuddered and exploded, leaving the Sand Gambler on the field.

Blackjack flipped up his other face-down card. "I'm not out of tricks yet! I activate another Skull Dice!"

Before the imp could even appear, Devan had already flipped his other card. "No you don't. I activate my Trap Jammer, which will negate any trap when it is activated."

Without any defenses the Sand Gambler was instantly consumed by the attack.

Devan- 6760

Blackjack- 7000

Devan smiled at his now infuriated opponent. "End turn."

Blackjack drew and slid his card into his disk. "Well take a look at that, it's the last 7 magic card I needed. You see when I have three 7 magic cards on my field I may sacrifice them all to draw three cards." The three mystic numbers disappeared and Blackjack drew three cards. He slapped one of them down onto his field. "Now I activate the effect of the mighty Time Wizard!" (500/400)

A little clock with arms and a staff appeared on the field. On the top of its staff was little spinner that was divided into six parts. Each part either had a skull or a time machine on them.

Devan chuckled. "What's this, another weakling?"

Blackjack snapped his fingers and the spinner on top of the Time Wizard's staff started to spin. "Far from it friend! You see depending on what the spinner lands on one of us is going to be very happy. If it lands on a skull then my Time Wizard will explode and drain my life points by half of the total attack of all monsters on my field. If it hits a time machine though all of your monsters will be sent 1000 years into their future. More or less they'll be dust."

Devan frowned as he watched the spinner. ("Be a skull...Be a skull...")

It landed on a time machine.

Blackjack snapped his fingers once more. "Say good-bye to your monsters as they suffer the rigors of aging!" The field shimmered and to Devan's horror his Twin-headed Thunder Dragon and face-down monster both crumbled into dust.

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Giovan laughed. ("Too bad kid. Looks like your monster is gone.") A thud next to him snapped his attention to the right of his seat. Standing on the balcony with him was one of his emissaries, this one cloaked from head to toe in the black coverings that all of his employees wore. "I see you've come to watch the festivities Kaigen?"

The cloaked man nodded and continued to look down at the field.

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Blackjack slid a card into his duel disk. "Now I'll play my Polymerization card to fuse Baby Dragon and Time Wizard together to form Thousand Dragon!" (2400/2000) An aged brown dragon appeared on Blackjack's field and snorted tiredly. "Thousand Dragon, attack with Thousand Year old Breath!" The monster sucked air into its nostrils and then exhaled a foul cloud of green smoke that engulfed Devan, leaving him choking and gasping for air.

Devan- 4360

Blackjack- 7000

Blackjack threw a wink to the still gasping Devan. "End turn."

Devan growled in barely controlled anger and he drew. "I play Premature Burial! At the cost of 800 life points I will revive my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon from the graveyard!" The ground in front of him glowed for a moment and then his red dragon reappeared.

Devan- 3560

Blackjack- 7000

"Now Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon attack!" The monster charged up its blast and in one shot Blackjack's field was empty.

Devan- 3560

Blackjack- 6600

Devan grinned. Now he had the advantage. "End turn."

Blackjack drew and slid a card into his disk. "I'll play the magic card Monster Reborn to revive my Time Wizard!" The card appeared on the field, but before it could activate it was surrounded by a pulsing circle of light that destroyed it.

Devan slid the last card in his hand into the graveyard. "I use my face-down Magic Jammer to negate your Monster Reborn before your annoying monster gets a chance to return."

Blackjack's eyes went wide in fear. He was, for once in his life, out of things to say. "End....turn..."

Devan drew and slapped a monster down onto his disk next to his Thunder Dragon. "I summon Luster Dragon (1900/1700) in attack mode." A sapphire armored dragon appeared next to Devan's other monster and he pointed at Blackjack. "Now shut that loud-mouth up." The two monsters unleashed their respective attacks and blew Blackjack to the ground.

Devan- 3560

Blackjack- 1900

The gambler slowly climbed to his feet and drew his last card. He looked at it and sighed. "I submit."

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Giovan sighed and shook his head. "Now that was by far one of the most depressing games I have ever seen in my life. To think that you could win by relying on luck. It's pitiful..."

Kaigen stayed silent as he watched the duel come to its end.

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As the ring lowered back to ground level Devan hopped down and threw a thumbs-up to Siegfried. "I told you that I could do it without losing my temper."

Siegfried clapped his teammate on the shoulder and nodded. "I didn't doubt you for a second. He stepped forward and nodded to the suited man. "Ready to roll again?"

The man nodded and as one they threw their COCs.

Siegfried's COC landed on a one.

The man's COC landed on a two.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Giovan stood up lazily. "Now for the next match of the second quarter-finals round. Team Blitz leader Siegfried Reinhardt vs. Team Odds leader Steven Quartro."

The two dueling teams leader nodded and climbed into the ring. They took their positions and their disks clicked into place.

Steven gave off his fake smile again. "Let's have a good game."

Siegfried returned his fake smile with a cold glare. "That sounds fine with me."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Beating the Odds


	27. Beating the Odds

Disclaimer: For the last time I don't own Yugioh. Stupid lawyers.......

Chapter 27: Beating the Odds

_Giovan stood up lazily. "Now for the next match of the second quarter-finals round. Team Blitz leader Siegfried Reinhardt vs. Team Odds leader Steven Quartro."_

_The two dueling teams leader nodded and climbed into the ring. They took their positions and their disks clicked into place. _

_Steven gave off his fake smile again. "Let's have a good game."_

_Siegfried returned his fake smile with a cold glare. "That sounds fine with me."_

Steven drew and placed a monster face-down on his field. "I'll set this and end my turn."

Siegfried drew and almost without looking at his cards picked two out of his hand and slid them into his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down on the field." He grasped a monster card carefully by the edges and placed it on his disk. "Then I summon Burning Inpachi (1850/0) in attack mode. Attack!" A humanoid machine made of burning wood appeared on the field. His monster launched forward and brought a flaming fist down on top of monster. The monster shuddered and then broke into pieces.

Steven picked up his creature and chuckled. "You've run right into my trap. This monster is known as Revival Jam. (1500/500) Thanks to its special ability it can reform from almost any attack." Right after he said so a blue blob of slime formed on his field. "Thanks to this creature you will be unable to attack me at all."

Siegfried didn't seem worried. "End turn."

Steven drew and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I'll set these two cards face-down and summon Cannon Soldier (1400/1300) in attack mode." A purple robot with a cannon strapped to its back appeared on Steven's field. Then Steven slid a card from his hand into the duel disk face-up. "Now I'll play the magic card Jam Breeding Machine." A large engine like machine appeared on Steven's field. "End turn."

Siegfried drew and placed another monster down. "I summon Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) in attack mode." A horned purple demon appeared on his field. "Now Archfiend Soldier, attack his Cannon Soldier!"

Steven flipped up his face-down card. "Not if I have anything to say about it! I reveal the trap card Jam Defender! As long as this continuous trap is on the field I can redirect all attacks to my Revival Jam!"

Right before the Archfiend Soldier could destroy the Cannon Soldier Steven's Revival Jam leaped into the way. The blue blob monster splattered and then instantly reformed.

Siegfried was frowning now. ("So it's this kind of lock. His Jam Breeding Machine will produce monster upon monster for him to sacrifice to his Cannon Soldier, which will deal me 500 life points of damage every turn. Meanwhile all of my attacks will slam right into his Revival Jam.") He looked his hand over quickly and then looked up at his opponent. "End turn."

Steven drew and his Jam Breeding Machine turned on, spitting out a slime token (500/500) in attack mode. "Now I will sacrifice my slime token to deal you 500 life points of damage." The slime token disappeared and his Cannon Soldier fired at Siegfried. The German duelist slid back a little and clutched at his chest.

Siegfried- 7500

Steven- 8000

Steven looked his hand over and grinned. "And just in case you think you have some kind of way to deal with me, I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Siegfried drew and threw another monster onto his disk. "Now I summon Retrained Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in attack mode." An elven monster wielding a sword appeared. "End turn."

Steven drew, repeated his Jam Breeding Machine/Cannon Soldier combo, and then ended his turn.

Siegfried- 7000

Steven- 8000

Siegfried drew and threw down another monster. "Now I shall summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) to the field in attack mode." A demon dog appeared and howled. "End turn."

Steven drew, repeated his combo, and ended his turn.

Siegfried- 6500

Steven- 8000

Siegfried drew and placed a monster in the last spot on his duel disk. "I summon another Archfiend Soldier in attack mode. End turn."

Steven drew and repeated his combo.

Siegfried- 6000

Steven- 8000

Chuckling, the business suited man shrugged to his opponent. "What's the matter friend? You getting frustrated that you are unable to attack?"

Siegfried returned Steven's chuckle with one of his own. "Actually no, I'm quite content sitting here and building up my attack force."

Steven snorted. "Suit yourself. End turn."

Siegfried drew again. "End turn."

Steven drew, repeated his combo, and ended his turn.

Siegfried-5500

Steven- 8000

Siegfried drew and ended his turn.

Steven drew and laughed. "This is getting boring. Let me heat things up by flipping up my two continuous magic card Infinite Cards and Card of Safe Return. As long as Infinite Cards remains on the field neither of us have hand size limits, and Card of Safe Return lets me to drew three cards from my deck whenever a monster returns to play from the graveyard." His combo went off again. "End turn."

Siegfried- 5000

Steven- 8000

As he drew Siegfried shook his head. "That was by far the dumbest thing you could have done." He slid a card into his duel disk and pointed at the Cannon Soldier. "Attack Archfiend Soldier!" The purple demon flew across the field and was immediately intercepted by the Revival Jam.

Steven burst out into laughter as his splattered Jam reformed. "Did you expect that to stop me? Idiot, now I get to draw three cards from my deck." He drew his three and smiled.

Siegfried smiled right back and pointed at the Cannon Soldier. "I attack with the rest of my monsters!" Siegfried's other monsters charged across the field and each one was intercepted by the Revival Jam.

Steven shook his head at Siegfried and he drew twelve cards off the top of his deck. "What are you wasting our time for?"

Siegfried looked up at Giovan. "Choose the next two teams. We're done here."

Steven lost his cool demeanor. "How dare you ignore me, you insolent punk! What makes you think you have won!?!?"

Siegfried turned back to his opponent. "By my calculations you have nineteen cards in your hand. Am I correct?"

Steven counted his hand and nodded. "So what? I don't have to discard thanks to my Infinite Cards continuous magic card."

Siegfried slid a card into his duel disk. "I play Card Destruction. We must both discard our hands and draw an equal number of cards from our deck to replace them."

Steven slid his huge hand into the graveyard and started drawing. As he did so he shrugged. "Why should that affect me?" He felt his blood run cold when he was reached up to draw his nineteenth card. Instead of the back of a card his hand had just touched the bottom of his deck slot. And he was holding eighteen cards in his hand. His mouth fell open and he stared at his duel disk like it had betrayed him.

"And now you see the weakness of your deck. While it is true that you can draw all of the cards you need, what happens when you have to draw more cards then your deck has in it?" When Steven didn't answer him, Siegfried shook his head while the ring lowered back to ground level. He joined his group and then looked up at Giovan. "Like I said, announce the next two teams."

Steven was led out by his two team members, his eyes stuck in permanent shock.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Team Emissary vs. Team Destruct

Author's Notes: Hey there everyone. So now that Team Blitz and Team Domino are in the semi-finals, that only leaves:

-Team Emissary

-Team Destruct

-Team Topdeck

-Team Yami

So, how am I doing so far? Please let me know how I am doing.


	28. Team Destruct vs Team Emissary

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Chapter 28: Team Emissary vs. Team Destruct

Giovan raised his hand up and the randomizer flickered through the names of the next two teams that would go against each other in the tournament. Finally the names came to a stop on Team Emissary and Team Destruct.

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Deondre stared at the board. It actually made alot of sense that Giovan would enter his own team into his own tournament. "Team Emissary?"

"That would be us," A voice said from the doorway that led into the arena.

Everyone spun around to watch a trio of black cloaked men walk into the room. They took their position in the first team square.

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Ryan Paine grinned and re-adjusted his yellow cap as he looked upon Team Emissary. "What fun. We get a bunch of freaks in cloaks to smack around."

Thomas Green brushed back some locks from his mop of brown hair and snickered. "Yeah. This should be an easy win."

The final member of Team Destruct was a much older man in a leather jacket. He simply called himself Leader. Tugging on the sleeves of his shirt he sneered at the lead member of the opposing team. "What's the matter tough man? Cat got your tongue?" He leaned in and spat into the folds of the Emissary's cloak.

The Emissary didn't respond to the insult. He slowly tuned his head to look up at Giovan. "Milord?"

Giovan scratched his chin in thought. If there was one thing he could not allow is was his personal soldiers to be made fools of. Luckily he had the perfect idea in mind. He looked down at Team Destruct and smiled. "Let me make you a deal friends. How about all three of your duel against the best member of my personal dueling team?"

Leader couldn't believe his ears. With both Tom and Ryan backing him up, they would win the duel with ease. "You kidding? Of course we accept a deal like that."

The two Emissaries stepped back and the one in the middle climbed into the ring.

Giovan looked down at Team Destruct. "Excellent! Your opponent shall be Kaigen!"

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Deondre frowned as he watched Team Destruct climb into the ring. "This is just stupid. Why would Garlin want his team to lose? There's no way that one guy will be able to beat three opponents at once."

Yugi however knew never to underestimate any opponent. ("This is going to be interesting indeed...")

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Giovan lifted his hand up and then threw it down. "Quarter-finals round three! Team Destruct vs. Kaigen! Begin!"

Kaigen raised his arm from within the folds of his cloak and his jet black duel disk clicked into place. He drew his five cards and then his sixth. In a flat monotone he said, "I set three cards face-down and set one monster in defense mode. End turn."

Ryan was the first to go for Team Destruct. He drew and slapped down a monster. "I summon Thunder Nyan Nyan (1900/800) in attack mode!" A cat-girl pounding on a drum appeared on his field. "Now attack his face-down monster!"

The Thunder Nyan Nyan beat on her drum rapidly, creating a booming explosion of sound that shattered Kaigen's face-down monster.

Ryan grinned proudly. "That takes care of that."

What he didn't notice was that Kaigen was searching his deck for something. "You have attacked my Giant Germ. (1000/100) When this monster is destroyed in battle it special summons two more of itself from my deck to the field in attack mode. It also deals you 500 points of damage."

Ryan- 7500

Leader- 8000

Thomas- 8000

Kaigen- 8000

Kaigen slapped two more of the purple-brown blob monsters onto his field.

Ryan slid a card into his duel disk. "Was that supposed to scare us? I'll set this card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Leader drew and slapped down his own monster. "I summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) in attack mode." A horse-sized demon dog appeared on his field. He pointed at one of Kaigen's two Giant Germs. "Attack!"

The dog lunged across the field and slammed into the blob, splattering it.

Ryan- 7500

Leader- 7500

Thomas- 8000

Kaigen- 7100

Leader slid a card into his duel disk. "Just like Ryan did I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

Thomas drew and set one monster in defense and one card face-down. Then he ended his turn.

Kaigen drew and switched his last remaining Giant Germ into defense mode. He looked over their fields and flipped his face-down cards. "I reveal three Mystical Space Typhoons, destroying all three of your face-down cards." Three small tornadoes blew across each player's field, shattering their face-down cards. He then picked up his Giant Germ and slid it into the graveyard, slapping a new monster down in its place. "I summon Dark Ruler Hades (2450/1200) in attack mode." A demon in ornate robes appeared and unleashed a gout of booming laughter.

Leader sneered, "Please, we can deal with that easily."

Kaigen's graveyard spat out his three Giant Germ cards and he placed them into the folds of his robe. "Now I remove three demon sub-type monsters in my graveyard from the game to summon Dark Necrofear (2200/2800) in attack mode." A vampire woman carrying a mannequin appeared next to the Dark Ruler. "Dark Ruler, attack with Darkness Pulse against Ryan's monster." The Ruler reached out with his hand and a ball of pulsing black light enveloped Ryan's Thunder Nyan Nyan, destroying it instantly.

Ryan- 6950

Leader- 7500

Thomas- 8000

Kaigen- 7100

"Now Dark Necrofear, crush Leader's dog." The vampire woman snapped her eyes wide open and a blast of red light shout out of them, carving Leader's Mad Dog of Darkness apart.

Ryan- 6950

Leader- 7200

Thomas- 8000

Kaigen- 7100

Kaigen slid the last card in his hand into his duel disk. "End turn."

Ryan drew and placed a monster in defense mode. "End turn."

Leader drew and did the same. "End turn."

Thomas drew. "I'll sacrifice my face-down monster card to bring out my Summoned Skull (2500/1200) in attack mode." A large demon made up of bone and muscle tissue appeared on his field and roared. He pointed at Kaigen's Dark Ruler. "Lightning Strike!" The Summoned Skull charged up a blast of lightning and blew the Dark Ruler to pieces.

Ryan- 6950

Leader- 7200

Thomas- 8000

Kaigen- 7050

Thomas grinned at his teammates, who had each thrown him a thumbs-up. "End turn."

Kaigen drew. "I switch my Dark Necrofear to defense mode." The vampire woman crouched, a dark bubble of force now surrounding her. Then Kaigen placed a new monster on is duel disk. "I summon Protector of the Sanctuary (1100/1900) in defense mode. As long as this monster is on the field none of you may draw cards outside of your draw phase." A small building appeared on the field, with a neon outline of a creature protecting it.

Thomas shook his head. "It's sad to watch someone get put on the defensive."

Kaigen flipped his face-down card. "I reveal Card Destruction. This means all of you discard your hands. Since my Protector of the Sanctuary is on the field though, you may not draw cards to replace the ones you discard."

Team Destruct, in unison, blanched and slid their hands into their graveyards.

Kaigen, face still hidden, nodded to them. "End turn."

Ryan drew. "I'll sacrifice my face-down monster to bring out my own Summoned Skull." Another one of the bone and muscle tissue demons appeared. "Now I'll have it destroy your Protector of the Sanctuary!" The monster charged up a powerful blast of lightning and in one flash Kaigen's Protector was gone. "End turn."

Leader drew and grinned. "Isn't this just the time for weird stuff to happen? I sacrifice my face-down monster to summon my Summoned Skull." A third bone and muscle tissue demon appeared on the field. "End turn."

Thomas drew. "I'll place a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Kaigen drew and slid the card into his duel disk. "I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards." He drew his new cards and slid one into his duel disk. "I play Monster Reborn to revive my Protector of the Sanctuary in defense mode." The neon outline monster reappeared on his field.

He slid his second card into his duel disk. "Now I use Card of Sanctity, which forces all players to draw until they hold six cards in their hand. In your case though, you draw no cards thanks to my Protector of the Sanctuary." He drew six cards and looked them over.

Then he slid two cards into his duel disk. "I'll set two cards face-down. Then I will sacrifice my Protector of the Sanctuary to bring out my own Summoned Skull. End turn."

Ryan drew and frowned. "I'll set this card face-down and end my turn."

Leader drew and busted up laughing. "Perfect timing! I play the magic card Black Pendant, which will raise the attack power of my Summoned Skull by 500 points." A black jeweled pendant appeared around the demon's neck. Its aura flared to life. (3000/1200)

He pointed at Kaigen's Summoned Skull. "Now attack!" His Summoned Skull powered up a large blast of lightning and unleashed it at his opponent's monster.

Kaigen flipped his face-down card. "I reveal the trap card Mirror Force." The lightning from Leader's monster slammed into a blue barrier of light and dissipated. "This will stop your attack and reflect it back at your team's collective fields. All of your attack mode monsters will be destroyed." The barrier unleashed a spray of white beams of light that instantly destroyed all of Team Destruct's Summoned Skulls.

Leader slid his monster into his graveyard and smiled a little. "At least there is one upside to this. When my Black Pendant is sent to the graveyard you lose 500 life points. End turn."

Ryan- 6950

Leader- 7200

Thomas- 8000

Kaigen- 6550

Thomas drew. "End turn."

Kaigen drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Hell Meteor. This will deal one player on the field 4000 points of direct damage." Above him the sky seemed to cry out in pain as it was torn open, revealing a pulsing dimension of light and flame that floated above the field. From deep within the dimension a ball of black and red flames started to develop, getting larger and larger with each passing second.

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"4000 life points of damage!?" Yugi clenched his fists at his sides. He snapped his head up at Giovan. "How is that fair!?"

Giovan smiled down at the King of Game and shrugged. "What's the matter Yugi? Don't think you can defeat something like that?"

Yugi growled out, "You may as well be cheating! That card is not fair!"

Giovan shrugged it off. "Once again I say, don't think you can handle it Yugi?"

This time Yugi went silent, his glare promising Giovan that when they met in a duel, his cheating would not win for him.

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The dimension howled and thrashed in the air like a living thing, spouting jets of flame and bursts of smoke and light.

Kaigen's monotone had broken, unveiling a voice thick with anger. "Can you feel the flames? Can you feel them crying out for your blood? Can you feel them crying out for your soul? CAN YOU!?"

All three members of Team Destruct stumbled away from the roaring rip in the sky. Even for a hologram it seemed far too real.

From underneath his concealing cloak Kaigen sneered. "What you look upon is the very flaming abyss where people go when they die. A place where there is no relief and there is no peace. Nothing is there but death and pain......" His head dropped a little to look at the ground. "It is a place of eternal torment, where nothing can withstand its wrath."

Ryan felt cold shivers run up and down his spine. "Are you insane or something!? It's just a card!"

Kaigen's hooded head snapped up and from underneath the folds of his black cloak Ryan could see a pair of crimson red glowing eyes glaring at him. "Just a card huh? Let me show you just what this card really is." He flipped his other face-down card. "First I trigger the magic card Endurance Drain, which will double the damage of any one magic card of my choosing. Therefore now my Hell Meteor does 8000 points of damage."

Ryan had moved all the way back to the edge of the ring. "I give in....I give in!!"

Kaigen's reply was so cold that for a moment even the burning flames of the building Hell Meteor seemed to slow down. "It's a little too late for that, don't you think?" The Hell Meteor dropped out of the air towards its target, the ball of black and red flame the size of a house now. "NOW DIE!"

Leader and Thomas had to throw themselves out of the way as the Meteor slammed into Ryan. They heard screams of pain that the Meteor seemed to feed off of, getting bigger for a moment, and then in one thunderous blast it exploded, engulfing the ring in flames.

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From down on ground level the remaining duelists had to brace themselves, lest they would be hurled straight against the wall by the force of the Hell Meteor's explosion. The blast grew bigger and bigger, filling the room with hellish red and black flames that licked at the skin of everyone in the room.

Up in his seat Giovan had already turned on the speakers next to him, the echoing beauty of Beethoven's 5th Symphony playing in his ears as he watched the three members of Team Destruct be burned to a literal crisp. Just as the song reached its final crescendo their bodies faded from the flames, leaving nothing left but scorch marks in the ring.

Ryan- 0

Leader- Unable to play

Thomas- Unable to play

Kaigen- 6550

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As the flames finally died down Kaigen had returned to his inanimate state, seeming cold and emotionless once again. The ring lowered and the cloaked man climbed down, walking over to rejoin the other emissaries.

Everyone stared at the scorch-marks in the arena where Team Destruct had been a moment before. Finally it was Yugi who spun around and looked up at Giovan. "What happened to them!?"

Giovan rested his head in his palm and sighed. "What do you think happened? What happens to people when fireballs as big as houses drop on them?"

Yugi could barely contain his anger. He could feel it bubbling to the surface. Even the Egyptian God Cards weren't capable of that kind of destruction.

Giovan stood up in his chair and looked down at the assembled duelists, Beethoven's 5th Symphony still playing in the background behind him. "On that note, Team Emissary is the winner." He snapped his fingers. "Oh yes, before I forget! Let me remind you all that I have now turned up the pain system on the duel disks to a whole new level." He motioned to the scorch marks in the ring where Team Destruct had been. "As you can see, now all of the damage you can take from the cards is quite real."

He looked down at the screen, which had the last two team names on it. "On that note, it's time for round four of the Quarter-finals! Team Topdeck vs. Team Makai!"

All three members of Team Topdeck snapped their eyes wide open as the four gothic freaks that Rebecca and CJ had sent packing came in through the double doors.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Dimension vs. Dimension

Author's notes: Well this was a tough chapter for me. Doing a three on one duel is never easy. As for how Team Makai came back...well let's just say all shall be explained in the next chapter.


	29. Dimension vs Vampire

Disclaimer: Nope...don't own Yugioh....

Chapter 29: Dimension vs. Vampire

_He looked down at the screen, which had the last two team names on it. "On that note, it's time for round four of the Quarter-finals! Team Topdeck vs. Team Makai!"_

_All three members of Team Topdeck snapped their eyes wide open as the four gothic freaks that Rebecca and CJ had sent packing came in through the double doors._

Rebecca was the first to break the silence. "What are you freaks of nature doing here!?"

The leader of the group, Brujah, slid his sunglasses off and smiled. "What's the matter little girl? Not happy to see us again?" Rebecca's frown answered him better than any words ever could.

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Giovan nodded down to Deondre and Brujah. "Now roll your COCs and let us see who goes first." Both leaders nodded and threw their COCs, watching the cubes bounce until they came to a stop.

Deondre's landed on a one.

Brujah's landed on a five.

Deondre shuffled his deck and slid it into his duel disk. "Good, I get to knock you freaks out of this tournament."

The third member of Team Makai, a huge man in a leather overcoat, stomped onto the dueling ring and took his position across from Deondre.

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Giovan looked at his watch and frowned. "This match will decide which team goes onto the finals. Lunch is going to be served in half an hour and I for one do not intend to miss it. Deondre vs. Gangrel! Begin!"

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Deondre drew his five and then his sixth. ("It's kind of funny to watch him change the rules of the tournament to suit his personal needs.") He slid two cards into his duel disk and placed a monster onto his disk in defense mode. "End turn."

Gangrel drew a card from his deck and placed down a monster. "Prepare yourself for Gil Gars (1800/1500) in attack mode." A demon in purple armor wielding a sword appeared on his field. "Now Gil Gars attack his face-down monster!" The demon leapt across the expanse, slashing Deondre's monster in half.

Deondre shook his head and held up his face-down monster card for Gangrel to see. "Everyone always attacks my face-down Dimensional Warrior. (1200/800) I almost feel bad for you vampire boy. You see when my Dimensional Warrior battles another monster it removes itself and the other monster from play."

Gangrel growled and took the Gil Gars monster card off of his deck, sliding the card into his back pocket. "I'll set one card and end my turn then."

Deondre drew and slapped a monster onto his disk. "I summon D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600) in attack mode." A woman in a grey bodysuit carrying a laser dagger appeared on the field. "Now attack his life points directly."

Gangrel flipped up his face-down card. "Go right ahead and attack me, but prepare yourself as you slam right into my Fearful Earthbound continuous trap card!" Around Deondre a set of brown jaws appeared out of the earth, poised to bite down on him in an instant. "As long as this trap card remains on the field you will take 500 life points of damage every time you declare an attack against me!"

The jaws began to close around Deondre, but he pressed a button on his duel disk and they froze. The jaws seemed to shudder in pain, right before they exploded.

Deondre smiled and flipped up his face-down card. "Mystical Space Typhoon says forget that. You see when it is activated it will destroy one magic or trap on the field, meaning your Fearful Earthbound isn't a threat anymore." The D.D. Warrior Lady slammed her dagger right into Gangrel's chest, sending him stumbling back in pain. He clutched at his ribs; a bloody gash had developed from where the hologram had cut him.

Deondre- 8000

Gangrel- 6500

Deondre stared at the wound his monster had created. ("I need to be careful. If I'm not I may just wind up sharing his pain.") He slid a new card into his duel disk. "I'll set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Gangrel drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I play the magic card Vampirism!" On his field a pale man dressed in a count's clothing appeared. "This will allow me to pay any amount of life points in intervals of 1000. For every 1000 I pay you lose 1000 life points." He sneered, his fangs glistening in the light. "I'll pay 6000 life points."

The vampire count spun around and bit down on his neck, drinking in his blood. He stood there, eyes wide and teeth clenched as the hologram inflicted huge amounts of damage to him. As soon as the vampire was done Gangrel collapsed to his knees.

Deondre braced himself as the vampire flew over to him and bit down. He felt the teeth enter his neck and he felt his blood being drained out of him. His body started to feel weaker and weaker, until soon he could barely keep his eyes open. After what felt like hours he collapsed to his knees, barely able to keep conscious.

Deondre- 2000

Gangrel- 500

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Giovan tapped his fingers together in thought. ("That was quite a risky move that Gangrel did. Considering that I have turned up the realism of the holograms, I'd think he would be more careful with his life points.")

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Gangrel slowly came up to one knee and slid a new card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Damage Recovery. This allows me to gain back all life points that I have lost this turn." A woman in white robes appeared next to him and brushed his cheek with her hand. Tingles ran through his body and he stood back on his feet, almost completely healed except for the gash in his chest from the wound that Deondre's D.D. Warrior Lady had dealt him.

Deondre- 2000

Gangrel- 6500

Deondre still had his head lolling downwards, blood dripping from his neck to the steel underneath him.

Gangrel sighed and shook his head. "It's quite sad to watch someone who is unable to take the pain. Well let me put you out of your misery with this monster." He took a card from his hand and played it onto his disk. "Say hello to my Vampire Lady (1550/1550) in attack mode!" A blue-skinned woman dressed in a form fitting purple gown appeared and giggled, baring her fangs.

Smiling enough to show off his own fangs, Gangrel pointed at Deondre. "Go show the weakling your kiss my dear!" The Vampire Lady lunged across the field, teeth bared to drain Deondre of more of his blood. Right before she arrived though Deondre's D.D. Warrior Lady leaped into the way. The two female monsters wrestled for a moment before the Vampire Lady bit down on the D.D. Warrior Lady's neck. The blond-haired woman's eyes narrowed weakly. She grappled onto the Vampire Lady and pushed a button on her belt. There was a flash of light and both monsters disappeared.

Deondre- 1950

Gangrel- 6500

Deondre somehow managed to pull himself to his feet, eyes drooping in exhaustion. "You slammed right into my D.D. Warrior Lady and her effect. When she battles a monster I may choose to remove both her and the other monster from play."

Gangrel pointed across the field at his drained opponent. "True, but my Vampire Lady's effect still activates. When she deals you life point damage I may call one card type and you must remove one card of that type from your deck and place it into your graveyard. I'll call trap."

Deondre popped his deck out of his duel disk and looked through it, using every bit of his remaining energy to stay focused. 'I'll discard a Dimensional Warp trap card from my deck." He shuffled his deck and put it back into his disk. Then he took the Dimensional Warp card and slid it into his graveyard.

Gangrel looked his hand over and slid two cards into his duel disk. "End turn."

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Rebecca bit her lower lip as she watched Deondre weakly draw his next card. "Is he going to be okay?"

CJ took his eyes off of the duel and looked over at Rebecca. "He'll be okay.....I think."

Amy frowned. "He had better be okay. Team Topdeck's rise to the top is riding on his shoulders."

CJ sighed. ("When did we ever elect her as our manager anyways?")

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Deondre looked at the card he had just drawn and narrowed his eyes. He had never put this card into his deck. ("This is...")

Gangrel snickered at him from across the field. "What's the matter? Still haven't caught your breath yet?"

Deondre brought his attention back to the duel. He was still exhausted, but if he could get this out onto the field his chance of winning was much better. "Actually no, I've caught my breath." He slapped a monster onto his duel disk. "I summon D.D. Lancer (1500/1000) in attack mode!" A man in futuristic armor wielding a laser lance appeared. "Now I order my monster to attack your life points directly!" The Lancer raised his weapon and yelled a battle cry, picking up into a charge at Gangrel.

Right before it reached him though a hole opened up into the ground right underneath the Lancer's feet. He stopped in mid-air and feel in. From deep inside the pit screams of pain could be heard and his monster's lance, now bloodied, was spat up and out of the hole, landing at Deondre's feet. The weapon shivered and then exploded into digital dust.

Gangrel cackled and held up one of his two traps. "You just ran right into my Vampire Pit Trap. It destroys one attacking monster and drains the owner of said monster by its attack total."

Deondre- 450

Gangrel- 6000

Deondre stumbled, his vision starting to fade. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

From up in his seat, Giovan thought now was the best time to add in, "You understand that if you pass out we immediately give the win to Team Makai, correct?"

Exerting every bit of willpower Deondre had left, he got back on his feet. "I'll...set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Gangrel drew. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Deondre drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I play....the magic...card.....Monster....Reborn....reviving...." He forced his eyes open and took a few heaving breaths. "....D.D. Lancer in defense mode." The laser lance wielding monster reappeared on his field in a crouching position.

"Now I play the Magic card Cost Down." He slid a card from his hand into the graveyard. "This reduces the level of all monsters in my hand by two. Now I'll sacrifice my D.D. Lancer to summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode!" The purple-robed spellcaster appeared on Deondre's field and lifted his staff.

Gangrel chuckled. ("If he attacks I'll trigger my Magic Cylinder trap card, which will drain him of his monster's attack strength in life points.")

Deondre flipped one of his three face-down cards. "Now I reveal Knight's Title! This card will transform Dark Magician into Dark Magician Knight! (2500/2100)" The purple-robed spellcaster started to change, his robes changing into armor and his staff changing into a sword. "Now his special ability triggers. When my Dark Magician Knight comes to the field he immediately destroys one card on the field. I choose your face-down magic/trap card." The knight arched his arm back and then threw his sword into the air. It slammed into Gangrel's face-down card and destroyed it instantly.

Gangrel wasn't too worried. He still had his face-down monster card to protect him from attack.

Deondre flipped his next card. "Now I activate the magic card Nobleman of Crossout, which will remove your face-down monster from play." A man in shining silver armor appeared and lunged across the field. In just two quick slices Gangrel's face-down monster card was gone.

Now Gangrel was afraid. ("I'm wide open to attack!")

Deodre smiled weakly, his legs starting to give out on him. ("It's now or never. Do or die.") He flipped up his last face-down card. "I reveal the trap card Return from a Different Dimension. At the cost of half of my life points I will special summon as many monsters as I can from one of our removed from play piles. That means I will return your Gil Gars and Vampire Lady from the removed from play pile to the field under my control."

Next to Deondre's Dark Magician Knight both of Gangrel's old monsters appeared.

Shakily, Deondre pointed at Gangrel. "Full force attack!"

The three creatures launched across the field and slammed their weapons down all at once on Gangrel, the mock vampire screaming as dozens of bloody cuts were opened up on his skin.

Deondre- 225

Gangrel- 150

Deondre smiled weakly, right before he crashed face-first to the ground. Seconds later Gangrel did the same.

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Up in the stands, Giovan stood up and started to clap wildly. "That was a superb maneuver! Because both players are out cold Deondre wins by default because his life point total is higher."

Team Makai stared up at Giovan.

Team Topdeck cheered as the ring lowered. They ran over and made sure that Deondre was still alive. After checking his pulse, Amy nodded in relief. "He'll be okay. We just need to get him to a bed."

CJ didn't hear her. He was too busy mocking Team Makai as they stomped off angrily.

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Giovan looked up at the clock on the wall and smiled. "That's lucky. It's lunch time." Without giving a word of congratulations to the other duelists he walked off to eat.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Downtime before the Semi-finals

Author's notes: Another chapter complete. Anyway, if you are reading this then please send in a review, even if you really don't have anything to say. I'd just like to know how many people are still reading this fic. Thanks.


	30. Downtime before the semifinals

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 30: Downtime before the semi-finals

Each of the teams had their lunches in their room...

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Team Topdeck all had met in Deondre's room. Deondre himself was lying on his bed, snoring contently. Over on the desk was CJ, who was yelling at the fates for not letting him get a try in the tournament yet. Amy was tending to Deondre's wounds that he had sustained during the game against Gangrel.

Rebecca though was looking out of the window of the room. The sun shone down on the island and made her remember each of the crazy things that had happened here so far. So much had happened that had changed a lot of the things she thought about both dueling and life. ("My first duel in the tournament against Team Makai....")

_CJ pointed at the weakened Emperor. "Go Nexus the Conqueror! Attack with Excalibur Holy Wave!" The gladiator leaped into the air so far that he was staring the Emperor into the eye at the apex of his leap. He slammed his sword down into its skull and a golden wave of power ran down the immense monster's body, instantly splitting it in half. The backlash damage sent both Brujah and Caine flying out of the ring._

She smiled a little at the memory. She had been glad to show those jerks who were the best duelists. Of course not to say that the others didn't do their parts too. Every duelist on Team Topdeck had put forth top notch effort to get them here. Deondre had to face that nut-case Clarice to get them enough points to move onto the next area of the tournament.

_Deondre sighed and waved his finger back and forth in the air. "Tsk tsk, watch this. I'll now activate the effect of my Dimensional Armor. Attack to the Dark Magician!" The blue crystal armor latched onto the machine and there was a flash of brilliant blue light. As it cleared a much taller magician wearing the Dimensional armor appeared and bowed to Deondre. "Allow me to introduce my ultimate spellcaster, the triple D himself!" He did his own bow to his small audience. "I present to you the Different Dimension Dark Magician (2700/2700) in attack mode."_

Then of course there had been those crazy Emissaries who had challenged them to a two on two duel in the graveyard area. That was where she had learned about the spirit of Rikuo, who had been living inside her brother's body.

_Rikuo and CJ nodded together as her face-down card exploded. "Because it isn't necessary. You'll be finished right now." He slid the card he was holding in his hand into his duel disk. "I play the equipment magic card Divided We Fall! When this is equipped to a monster that has United We Stand on it the monster gains 4000 attack points, the ability to deal damage through defense, and to add insult to injury the power to attack twice." The Wolf Demon Lord roared, the very graveyard around them shuddering with the force of its attack power. (16400/1800)_

"_And now Wolf Demon Lord, show the emissaries that I can win even when my partner is an Ape." He ducked a punch aimed for his head as the samurai demon launched in and in two cuts Spirit's face-down monster was destroyed and her life points gone._

Thinking about the graveyard though brought her memory back to the movie that Giovan had shown them. He had arrived at the graveyard and had killed his own Emissaries as punishment for not defeating Rikuo and CJ. Then Rikuo had told them all to go on without him, and that he would join them as soon as he defeated Giovan in a duel. When they had arrived to a dinner in the castle, Giovan had decided to show all of the assembled duelists just what had happened in his duel with Rikuo.

"_Now Jinzo, Cyber Shock attack!" The green armored monster built up a dark ball of energy in between its cupped hands, and then when the ball was properly formed, he hurled it across the field. _

_Giovan started laughing as the ball headed towards him. "It's been a good game boy, but now that your hopes are so high, it's time to bring them crashing down. I reveal the magic card Dark Wall of Air, protecting me from all direct damage this turn." A wall of black air appeared and blocked Jinzo's attack._

_As the darkness ball faded, Daniel stared in mute horror. He collapsed to his knees. ("Just like that...I've lost.") His turn ended and all of his machine monsters exploded, leaving him with only the Wolf Demon Lord on his field._

_Giovan drew and without even looking at his card ended his turn. _

_Daniel had no cards left in his deck. Since he couldn't draw a card he lost the duel. He was so numb with shock that he didn't even hear Garlin's approach. All he could feel was the sadness at having failed, and the understanding that he would never see his friends or family again. ("I won't let myself die honor-less though.") He knew that Rikuo must have been rubbing off on him more then the demon would let on. If this had been a week ago he would have run away screaming in fear, like Spirit had done._

_Yet he only felt regret..._

_Giovan stood in front of him, the ex-demon king sneering down at his fallen adversary. "Are you ready to accept your punishment boy?"_

_Daniel lifted his head up, chin held high. He knew that tears were streaking his face, but it didn't matter. "I'm ready to face my death."_

_Giovan raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected the boy to plead with him, or maybe call upon Rikuo for help. He hadn't expected actually be facing the boy when he inflicted out his punishment. "As you wish." His open-palmed hand came in line with Daniel's forehead. "Your life is at its end."_

_Daniel felt the energy gathering around Giovan's palm and he closed his eyes, praying that it would be a swift and merciful end. ("I'm sorry CJ....Deondre....you two are going to have to pick up where I left off and win the tournament. I'm sorry Amy, for not getting to know you better. Rebecca...I'm sorry....forgive me....") Then all he felt was flame and death as his body was ripped apart._

Rebecca could feel the tears streaming down her face as she recalled watching her brother burn alive. Her fists clenched tighter and tighter to the fabric of her pants. ("Giovan Garlin...you will pay.")

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Meanwhile in Team Domino's room...

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Yugi sat in his chair, staring at the card he had won from Apollo during the quarter-finals. ("Myth Speaker's special ability allows me to forfeit drawing a card to special summon any monster card from my deck to the field. This is an excellent way to get the Egyptian God Cards on the field.") He slid the card into his deck and removed one of his other monster cards.

Kaiba was sitting at the table in the room and working on his laptop, hoping desperately that his informants had found something out about what kind of deck Giovan Garlin uses. Unfortunately though he was disappointed as his mail box was empty. ("Nothing at all.")

Joey looked out the window and then looked over at Yugi. "Hey Yug?"

Yugi looked up from the desk. "What's up Joey?"

Joey looked out the window and sighed tiredly. "Why is it that whenever the three of us enter a tournament something crazy and supernatural happens?"

Yugi smiled and shrugged. "I bet that Murphy's Law has something to do with it."

Kaiba snorted derisively from his spot at the table.

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Meanwhile in Team Blitz's room...

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Siegfried looked out the window and frowned. ("This is getting out of control. How could someone as powerful as Giovan Garlin be so evil? He killed that girl's older brother, and the worst part of it was that he seemed happy that it had happened.")

Devan was laying against the bed, yawning. "What's on your mind Sieg?"

Siegfried looked over at his teammate. "What are we going to do about Giovan?"

Devan shrugged. "If I have my say we kick his ass from here to every other end of The Asylum."

Siegfried rolled his eyes and looked back out the window. "Somehow your answer doesn't surprise me."

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Giovan Garlin looked at the three teams in their rooms from his chair in his office. "I love reality television," he said to himself.

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An hour later an alarm went off inside each of the rooms, signaling the beginning of the semi-finals. Everyone trooped out of their rooms and went down to the arena area.

Giovan was waiting for them. He had already gotten back into his seat and chuckled as each of them walked in. "Welcome back everyone! I hope all of you enjoyed your temporary rests?" When the only replies he got were death glares from the collective members of the three teams, he sighed and rested his head on one of his palms. "Jeeze you people are a let-down."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: CJ vs. Cyclone

Author's notes: I know this was a really short chapter, but think of this kinda like a mix of a revenge-of-the-stock-footage episode and a short intermission between the end of the quarter-finals and the beginning of the semi-finals. Get ready for some intense dueling in the next chapter though.


	31. CJ vs Cyclone

Disclaimer: Yugioh ain't mine and it will never be mine.

Chapter 31: CJ vs. Cyclone

Giovan smiled down at the collective duelists. "After much debate I have decided to have Team Emissary go against Team Topdeck for the first round of the semi-finals."

The doors that everyone had just entered from blew open and the three members of Giovan's private dueling team walked in.

Giovan looked down at the two members of Team Topdeck. "Since one of your teammates is still recovering from his duel, I will not enforce the COC system for your choices of who will duel."

Kaigen and the leader of team Emissary stepped aside as a tall willowy Emissary, the third member of the team, trudged past them and climbed into the dueling ring.

CJ threw Rebecca a thumbs-up. "Let me deal with stick man, alright?"

Rebecca smiled back. "Go for it. Show them that we won't be pushed around."

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CJ took his position across from his opponent as the dueling ring lifted off of ground level. "So you got a name or am I just going to have to give you one?" His duel disk clicked into place.

The man threw his cloak aside and revealed himself. He wore the same black and silver jumpsuit that every Emissary wore. His frame was just as thin and willowy as CJ had originally thought it. He brushed long spindly fingers through his bright green hair and clicked his duel disk into place. "I am Cyclone. Are you ready to be blown away?"

CJ rolled his eyes at the lousy joke and drew his five cards. "The only person about to be blown away is you buddy." He drew his sixth card. "I'll go first." He slapped a monster onto his disk. "I summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode!" A Minotaur appeared on his field wielding a large battle axe. "End turn."

Cyclone drew and popped open his field magic card slot. "I play the magic card Rising Air Current." The air around them went from calm to small hurricane force winds in a matter of second. "As long as this field card remains in play all wind attribute monsters gain 500 attack points and lose 400 defense points."

CJ grimaced as he held on tightly to his hand of cards. The last thing he needed was to have them get blown away. ("I only run two wind attribute monsters in my entire deck. This isn't good at all. He's at an advantage, while I on the other hand am screwed.") "Is that all?"

Cyclone shook his head and slapped down his own monster. "I summon Harpie's Brother (2300/400) in attack mode." From high above them a large creature that looked like a hybrid of a bird and a man swooped down and landed on Cyclone's field.

CJ bit his lower lip. ("2300 attack on a four star monster? I hate field magic cards.")

Cyclone pointed at CJ's Enraged Battle Ox. "Now Harpie's Brother, cut his beast down." The bird-man launched into the air and out of sight. It dove down from behind the Enraged Battle Ox and in one slash of its talons CJ's monster was gone.

CJ- 7400

Cyclone- 8000

Cyclone slid a card into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

CJ drew and looked his hand over. He didn't see any immediate combos that would help him take down Cyclone's Harpie's Brother, but that didn't mean he was defenseless. "I set one monster face-down on my field and one card face-down on my field. End turn."

Cyclone drew and slid his Harpie's Brother into the graveyard. "I will sacrifice my Harpie's Brother to summon Cyber-tech Alligator (3000/1000) in attack mode." A robotic dragon appeared on his field and screeched, its mechanical voice echoing across the blowing winds of Cyclone's field magic card. "Now attack his face-down monster!" The Cyber-tech Alligator lunged across the field and slashed CJ's face-down monster apart.

CJ held up the destroyed monster card so that his opponent could see it. "You've attacked my Giant Rat. (1400/1450) When it is destroyed in battle I may search my deck for any earth attribute monster with 1500 or less attack strength and special summon it to my field. I'll search for another Giant Rat." On his field a large grey rat standing on its hind legs appeared.

Cyclone frowned at his unsuccessful attack. "End turn."

CJ drew and he still didn't see any combos in his hand that could help him out. "I switch my Giant Rat into defense mode. Then I'll set one monster in defense mode and one card face-down. End turn."

Cyclone's hand snapped across his deck and pulled free his next card. He looked it over and nodded. "Excellent timing." He slid a card into his duel disk. "I play the magic card Death Hurricane. This magic card has two requirements for it to work. The first requirement is that Rising Air current must be on the field." He slid a card from his hand into his graveyard. "The second requirement is that I must discard a card from my hand to use it. When I meet both requirements though Death Hurricane will destroy all of your monsters." A gray and black hurricane blew across CJ's first and destroyed his two monsters instantly.

CJ looked down at his field. ("As long as I have my two face-down cards I am safe though.")

Cyclone slid his next card into his duel disk. "Now I activate the magic card Harpie's Feather Duster, which will destroy all of your magic and trap cards on the field." A funnel of green wind struck CJ's field and shattered his two traps.

CJ felt the sweat pouring down his face. ("I'm in trouble.")

Cyclone pointed at CJ. "Attack his life points directly!" The Cyber-tech Alligator lunged across the field and slashed its claws across his side, cutting open a medium sized gash in his flesh.

CJ- 4400

Cyclone- 8000

CJ stumbled backwards, blood starting to flow from the wound. He could feel it seep into his shirt. ("This isn't good at all. I can't win this if he winds up killing me before I get a chance to.")

Cyclone slid his last card into his duel disk. "I'll set this card face-down on my field and end my turn."

CJ drew and tried his best to ignore the grievous wound that he had been dealt. "I set one monster face-down and two cards face-down. End turn."

Cyclone shook his head while he drew. "It's so sad to see someone who thinks they can win with defense mode monsters." He slid his new card into his duel disk. "I play the equipment magic card Destruction Fan." A metal fan appeared over the head of Cyclone's Cyber-tech Alligator. "As long as this magic card is equipped to my creature it will gain 500 attack points and it will be able to deal damage through defense. It will also destroy whatever monster it battles with." (3500/1000)

CJ heard the last part very clearly. He got ready for what he knew was coming. ("I hope this works.")

Cyclone pointed at CJ's field. "Cyber-tech Alligator attack with the Destruction Fan!" The metal dragon threw the steel fan, which spun across the field like a boomerang.

CJ pressed a button on his duel disk. "I activate the trap card Collected Power, which transfers all targeting effects to the monster of my choosing." Just as he said this his face-down monster, the Battle Footballer, (1000/2100) was revealed. It looked like a machine version of a football player.

Cyclone raised one bright green eyebrow. "How is that supposed to affect me at all?"

CJ watched as the Destruction Fan cut through his monster. The fan kept going, headed in an arch for CJ's head. Right before the razor sharp weapon could hit him though it spun to a stop and flew back at Cyclone's field. It hit the Emissary's Cyber-tech Alligator and destroyed it.

Cyclone stared at CJ, speechless.

CJ chuckled and lifted up his Collected Power trap card from his disk. "Allow me to explain. You see when you attacked I used Collected Power to switch the target of your equipment magic card from your Cyber-tech Alligator to my Battle Footballer. As you said before anything that has your Destruction Fan equipped to it destroys whatever monster it battles with, so since my Battle Footballer battled with your monster it destroyed it."

Cyclone had recovered from his shock in the middle of CJ's explanation, low growls escaping his throat.

CJ shrugged. "Don't feel too bad buddy. That's just the way the game goes sometimes."

Cyclone looked at his face-down card hopefully. "End turn."

CJ drew and looked at Cyclone's face-down card too. His look to it was more like one of hate though. ("I just know that is some kind of trap to screw me over. If I attack then he most likely will trigger it.") The gash in his side started to burn from the cold winds that were caused by the Rising Air Current. ("Of course if I don't attack then I will most likely bleed to death before I can win this game.")

Cyclone noticed CJ's hesitation. He decided to try and use that to his advantage. "What's the matter? You seemed so happy just a second ago. Don't tell me that you lost your nerve."

CJ slapped a monster onto his duel disk. "Don't worry, I haven't. I summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) in attack mode." A horse-sized demon dog appeared on his field. "Now attack his life points directly." The monster dog howled and lunged.

Cyclone flipped up his face-down card. "You make it too easy. I flip up my face-down trap card Storm Pit Trap. This trap card activates when you attack with a monster. As long as it is not a wind attribute monster, then it is destroyed." A hurricane slammed down from out of nowhere and shattered CJ's Mad Dog of Darkness.

CJ looked at his hand again. ("I have nothing but monster cards.") "End turn."

Cyclone drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down and end my turn."

CJ drew and slapped down his new monster. "I summon Little Winguard, (1900/1400) who gets your field power bonus because he is a wind attribute monster." A little humanoid creature with a tiny sword and shield appeared on his field. "Now attack!" The Little Winguard flew across the field and slammed into Cyclone, its sword leaving a long diagonal cut in his chest. He cried out and fell to one knee, blood starting to flow from the wound.

CJ- 4400

Cyclone- 6100

CJ smiled grimly at seeing his opponent taking some damage. "End turn."

Cyclone drew and slapped a new monster onto his disk. "Now I will crush you. I summon Lord of the Winds (2400/1000) in attack mode." On his field an enormous blue eagle appeared. It looked down at the Little Winguard and screeched, swooping down and raking its claws across the little monster's chest. CJ's creature exploded into digital dust, leaving his field empty again.

CJ- 3900

Cyclone- 6100

Cyclone smiled at CJ. "End turn. I hope you have a way to beat my Lord of the Winds, because if you can't this duel is over."

CJ drew and set a monster in defense mode. "End turn."

Cyclone drew. "That's too bad kid. Looks like I'm going to knock you out of this tournament. I flip up my face-down card Tribute to the Doomed." He slid the card in his hand into the graveyard. From the ground around CJ's creature woolen wrapping snapped up and surrounded it, creating a ball of cloth. Then a huge decayed claw reached up from out of the ground and grasped the ball, dragging it downwards and off the field.

CJ's eyes went wide. ("This is going to hurt a lot...")

Cyclone pointed at him. "Go Lord of the Winds! Attack his life points directly!" The huge eagle shot across the field and impaled CJ in the stomach with its talons.

CJ- 1500

Cyclone- 6100

CJ looked down numbly at the hole in his stomach. It was already leaking blood everywhere. ("Damn....") As he collapsed to the ground the last thing he heard was the screams of his friends, new and old, as they yelled his name. 

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Giovan stood up and started to wildly applaud. "Excellent job Cyclone! You showed him that one cannot defeat the top Emissaries!"

Cyclone bowed up to his master. "I thank you milord. Shall we announce the winner of this match or do you wish to give him a minute?"

Giovan chuckled. "I suppose a minute would be alright." He looked down at the huge pool of blood that was developing around CJ's prone form. "Not that he is going to get up from a wound like that anyway."

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_CJ found himself standing in a dark void..._

_He was surrounded by his family and friends..._

_He saw his grandmother, his sister, his cousins, Deondre, Daniel, Allon, Janeam, Rebecca and Amy all standing around him, smiling and laughing. He was smiling too._

_Then the darkness came..._

_It was a darkness that was somehow even deeper than the black void that surrounded him..._

_Leading the darkness was a man in the black and silver robes of a king..._

_The King laughed maniacally and to CJ's horror the darkness swallowed up all of his family and friends..._

_CJ spun to confront the King, his fists clenched. "Why!?"_

_The King sneered and revealed a pair of long fangs. "Because they bring you happiness..."_

_CJ wouldn't hear anymore of it! He charged..._

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Yugi had just been yelling at Giovan to let CJ down so that he could be taken to a doctor. Giovan had firmly refused, saying that the duel was not over yet...

How right he was...

Joey's eyes went open in a mix of surprise and awe. He pointed at the field, mouth opening and closing on reflex.

Siegfried followed Joey's finger and his eyes went wide. He tugged on Yugi's sleeve.

Yugi spun and he gasped. "Oh my Ra..."

CJ was back on his feet. The wounds he had sustained were gone.

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Giovan's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He had felt a small burst of energy a few moments ago but....

("For him to heal himself of such grievous wounds...") It would require the power of a great priest or healer. ("I'll have to keep a closer eye on CJ Anderson from now on.")

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Cyclone stumbled back in horror as his gutted opponent stood up and snarled at him. "This cannot be! You should be dead!"

CJ's face was twisted in pure rage. It was anger with a purpose. And the purpose?

To save the world...

"I won't let you win!!!" He drew and his duel disk spat up six monster cards from the graveyard. "I remove a wind, water, fire, earth, dark and light monster from my graveyard to special summon Nexus the Conqueror!" (3500/3000) He slapped down his ultimate monster card. A magnificent gladiator in golden armor wielding a greatsword appeared on his field.

Cyclone stumbled back even farther. "How is this possible!?"

CJ slapped his second to last card onto his duel disk. "Now I summon Exiled Force (1000/1000) in attack mode!" A group of soldiers appeared on the field. "Now I use their special ability! By sacrificing them I can destroy one monster on the field!" The soldiers ran across the field and grabbed Cyclone's Lord of the Winds, dragging the giant eagle off of the field.

Cyclone sneered. "It won't be enough! Nexus cannot defeat me!"

CJ slid the last card in his hand into his duel disk, his eyes still burning with rage. "I play Excalibur! This card will double Nexus's attack power!" Nexus's greatsword disappeared and was replaced by a thin ornate blade. (7000/3000)

Cyclone looked up at Giovan. "Master! End the duel! I surrender!"

Giovan sneered and paid him no mind.

CJ pointed right at Cyclone. "Nexus the Conqueror! Excalibur...." The gladiator's new sword began to glow with golden energy. "Holy...." The light of the weapon grew brighter and brighter. "WAVE!!!"

Nexus slammed the weapon into the ground and a stream of golden energy shot along the ground, engulfing Cyclone. The Emissary didn't even get a chance to scream before the holy energy consumed him and he was destroyed.

CJ- 1500

Cyclone- 0

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As Cyclone's owner-less duel disk clattered to the ground, CJ's rage filled eyes turned slowly to look up at Giovan. "You...."

Giovan returned the look with a chilling glare. The kind of glare that seemed like it could freeze ice.

CJ lifted his hand and pointed right at Giovan. "You won't win!"

Giovan smiled just enough to reveal a single fang. "And who will stop me?"

CJ's rage died down slowly. "You know who...." He smiled back knowingly and crashed face-first to the ground, unconscious.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Open mind

Author's notes: I love doing these kinds of chapters. Well anyway, I hope you all liked that. I certainly did. Please give me some feedback if you can on this chapter. Later.


	32. Open mind

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 32: Open mind

With some help from Yugi and Devan, Rebecca got CJ off of the dueling ring and down to the infirmary.

Rebecca returned less than three minutes later with her deck ready. She ran onto the dueling ring and looked up at Giovan. "I'm ready to duel, you freak."

Giovan threw her a cold glare. "Little girls shouldn't talk that way to their betters."

Rebecca laughed. "You're not my better. You're not even a snake's better. You're nothing more than a freak of nature. You're an unholy creature that should not ever have been born."

Giovan's scowl got deeper and deeper, anger quite evident in his eyes. "You little..."

Rebecca struck the final blow. "When you were born your parents should have thrown you out with the garbage. You were a mistake, Giovan Garlin."

His eyes started to glow a light red. He almost instantly regained his calm and motioned down to his team. "Kaigen, destroy her."

The cloaked figure nodded to his master and climbed into the dueling ring. His jet black duel disk clicked into position.

Rebecca's duel disk clicked into place too. "By the time I am done you will be nothing more than a pile of ash on the ground, murderer."

Giovan raised and dropped his hand. "Next game of Team Topdeck vs. Team Emissary! The little brat versus Kaigen! Begin!"

Rebecca drew and slid two cards into her duel disk. "I'm going to set these two cards face-down on the field. Then I will summon Hysteric Fairy (1800/800) in attack mode." A red-skinned fairy in a blue business suit appeared on Rebecca's field. "End turn."

Kaigen drew and in his monotone said, "I summon Giant Germ (1000/100) in face-up defense mode." A purple blob appeared on his field. "End turn."

Rebecca drew and shook her head at her opponent. "Do you think I am dumb enough to attack your Germ? Not only will you get to summon the other two of them to the field and deal me 500 life points of damage, but you will also gain demons in the graveyard to sacrifice for your Dark Necrofear." She slid a card into her duel disk. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards from my deck." She pulled her two new cards free and looked her hand over. ("There we go...This will deal with his Giant Germ.")

She slapped a new monster onto her duel disk. "I summon Banisher of the Light (100/2000) in defense mode!" A man in monk's robes appeared on her field in a crouching position. "As long as he is face-up on the field all of your cards that are sent to the graveyard are removed from play instead. This means that your Giant Germ is leaving the game, so its special ability won't work. Hysteric Fairy attack!"

The suited angel flew across the field and slammed into the blob, the fiend creature shivering and then fading away to Kaigen's removed from play pile.

Rebecca grinned proudly. "End turn."

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"All right Rebecca! Show that jerk that we won't tolerate a duelist who takes his games too far!" Yelled Joey.

From next to him Yugi nodded. "I must admit that is quite a clever play. As long as her Banisher of the Light is on the field then Kaigen's demons will be going into the removed from play pile, which means that all of his recursion cards will become all but useless."

Siegfried crossed his arms across his chest. "I think it is a little early to congratulate her on anything though. At the moment we are unsure what cards Kaigen may be holding in his hand. What if he draws the Hell Meteor card?"

Yugi frowned. "If he does then I can only hope that she had a face-down card that can deal with it."

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Kaigen drew and slapped a monster onto his disk. "I summon Giant Orc (2200/0) in attack mode." A giant grey monster wielding a spiked bone club appeared. "Attack her Banisher of the Light." The monster charged across the field, only to have its club swing stopped by a glowing blue-green barrier that sprang up right before it could hit the Banisher.

Rebecca held up one of her trap cards. "Sorry, but you attacked my Draining Shield. It negates the attack of your monster and raises my life points by your creature's attack strength."

Rebecca- 10, 200

Kaigen- 8000

Kaigen slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Rebecca drew and slid her Hysteric Fairy off of her disk, inserting the card into her graveyard. "I sacrifice my Hysteric Fairy to summon Angel of Judgment, Saturn (2400/0) in attack mode." A purple-skinned angel in white robes appeared and bowed to Rebecca, before turning her attention to Kaigen's Giant Orc.

Kaigen flipped his face-down card. "I reveal the trap card Bottomless Trap Hole, which sends your Angel straight into the removed from play pile." A hole opened up underneath the angel and tendrils of gray smoke reached up form the pit. They wrapped around the Angel and in one sharp pull she disappeared, never to be seen again.

Rebecca frowned and slid a card from her hand into her duel disk. "Don't think you're even close to beating me. I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Kaigen drew and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set these two cards face-down on my field. End turn."

Rebecca drew and set one monster from her hand onto her disk in face-down defense. "I set this monster and end my turn."

Kaigen drew and set one monster face-down. "End turn."

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Siegfried, arms still crossed, frowned. "It looks like we have reached the stalemate part of the game."

Kaiba nodded. "Neither of them will attack in fear of a trap card on their opponent's field."

Joey and Devan tapped their feet impatiently.

Yugi looked at Rebecca's face and smiled. "She's not afraid of him. She's waiting for something."

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Rebecca drew and removed her face-down monster from her duel disk. "I sacrifice my face-down monster card to summon Celestial Knight (2200/0) in attack mode." An angel in shining silver armor wielding a platinum pike appeared and bowed to her. "His special ability allows me to sacrifice a light monster from my hand to destroy one monster on your field." She slid one of the cards from her hand into the graveyard. "Say your farewells to your Giant Orc." The Knight wound up his weapon and threw it across the field, the spear slashing through the gray-skinned monster and blowing it to pieces.

Kaigen flipped up his face-down card. "I reveal Michizure. This trap triggers whenever I lose a monster on my field. It will destroy one monster on your field. I target your Celestial Knight." A crack in the ground appeared under Rebecca's monster and he disappeared from play.

Rebecca's smile wilted. She looked at the last two cards in her hand and frowned. "End turn."

Kaigen drew and slid his face-down monster into the removed from play pile. "I sacrifice my face-down demon to summon Dark Ruler Hades." A large robed demon appeared and laughed, its voice booming across the field. "Darkness Pulse!" The Dark Ruler charged up a black ball of energy between its palms and threw it across the field at Rebecca's Banisher of the Light." Right before the attack hit another blue-green barrier of light appeared and stopped the attack.

Rebecca smiled and slid her second Draining Shield into her graveyard. "I suggest you be careful. If you keep this up I will gain more than enough life points to win this duel."

Kaigen's reply was to tap a button on his duel disk, flipping up one of his face-down cards. "I reveal the continuous trap card Bad Reaction to Simochi. Whenever you try to gain life points you will instead lose them."

Rebecca- 7750

Kaigen- 8000

Rebecca's smile was gone now. She felt a cold sweat break across her forehead. ("That card negates my deck's entire strategy.")

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Despite the fact that Kaiba wanted Rebecca to win, he couldn't help but smile a little at the fact that her annoying life gain strategy was being turned against her.

Siegfried shook his head sadly. "It's over for her. She cannot win now that her deck's entire strategy has been negated."

Yugi shook his head as well, but for a different reason. "She can win. I promise you that she can win."

Joey looked the field over and scratched the back of his head in confusion. "How's that Yug?"

"I saw one of the two cards she is holding. It had more than enough power to defeat Kaigen. I don't understand why she is withholding it, but if she plays it her chance of winning will increase."

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Kaigen slid a card into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down and end my turn."

Rebecca drew. ("If I summon Jinzo and use my face-down card, he will be more than powerful enough to win this duel for me. But...") Her mind flashed to images of her brother. ("....what if Jinzo doesn't obey me? I remember hearing from Deondre that during the PQ tourney Jinzo wouldn't work for Daniel at one point.")

Kaigen stood tall across the field, watching her with his crimson eyes that glowed from underneath his hood. What she saw in those eyes was a darkness and hatred that no human should be able to possess.

Rebecca steeled her resolve. If Jinzo didn't obey her then so be it. "I sacrifice Banisher of the Light to summon Jinzo!" (2400/1500) Thankfully the green armored humanoid appeared on her field and chuckled in its cold mechanical voice. She smiled to him. ("Thank you Jinzo.")

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Yugi looked relieved. ("Whatever reasons she had for not playing Jinzo before are now gone. Now she has a chance.")

Joey scratched the back of his head. "Errr...was that the big play Yug?"

Yugi shook his head a little. "Just watch and you will see Joey."

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Rebecca flipped her face-down card. "I activate the magic card Monster Reborn to revive the monster I sent to the graveyard with the effect of my Celestial Knight. Come forth Guardian Angel Joan (2800/2000) in attack mode!" An orange-haired woman in white robes appeared and stretched her wings. Divine light gleamed from off of her body, plunging the entire field into light. She pointed at the Dark Ruler. "Attack with Holy Blast!" Joan charged up a ball of glowing light energy that she threw at Kaigen's Dark Ruler.

Right before the blast arrived though Kaigen flipped up his face-down card. "I reveal the quick-play equipment magic card Ability Negate." A steel clamp flew from his field and attached to Rebecca's Jinzo. "As long as this effect is in play you Jinzo will not have any special abilities."

Joan's blast hit the Dark Ruler and he gave out one screeching cry of pain before he was destroyed.

Rebecca- 7750

Kaigen- 7650

Rebecca's eyes went wide as she realized what that meant. "My Joan's special ability..."

Still in his monotone, Kaigen finished for her. "...means you gain life points equal to the original attack of whatever monster she destroys. However, because your Jinzo has no special ability my Bad Reaction to Simochi trap card means instead of you gaining 2450 life points you lose 2450 life points instead."

Rebecca- 5300

Kaigen- 7650

Rebecca face twisted in anger. "Jinzo attack his life points directly! Cyber Shock!" The green armored monster charged up a ball of dark energy within his cupper palms. Then he threw it across the field at Kaigen. Right before it hit though a pair of cups appeared on Kaigen's field. The blast flew into one of them and then came out of the other one, sending the attack across the field to hit Rebecca directly.

Rebecca- 2900

Kaigen- 7650

Kaigen slid his trap card out of his duel disk and placed it into his graveyard. "It's a shame you attacked my life points directly while my Magic Cylinder was on the field. When I activate it any damage that I would take from an attack is dealt to you instead."

Rebecca couldn't hear him though. She was on her knees and choking for air as the energy from Jinzo's attack had badly damaged her body. ("It....burns...")

For a moment the crimson red eyes under Kaigen's hood seemed to fade. The Emissary looked as if he was about to go over and help the girl.

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From up in his seat Giovan clenched his fist and extended his mind to Kaigen. ("She is your enemy....")

Instantly the crimson glow of Kaigen's eyes was back, the two hooded orbs glowing brighter and brighter with every passing second. ("Of course my master.")

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Rebecca slowly got to her feet, eyes locked onto Kaigen. "I...will not give up. You don't scare me!" When the only response she got was a blank stare from her opponent though, Rebecca wasn't so sure whether she could win or not. She nodded to her opponent. "End turn."

Kaigen drew and slid his new card into his duel disk. "I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards from my deck." He drew his new cards and then slid all three of the cards in his hand face-down into his duel disk. "End turn."

Rebecca knew that all of those cards were traps, and as long as her Jinzo had Ability Negate equipped it would be unable to use its special ability to negate all trap cards on the field. ("I need to draw the card that will turn this around.")

Her hand inched towards her deck and she drew...

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: A Puppet without strings

Authors Notes: Hey there everyone. I was just looking at my reviews and I wanted to thank everyone who had ever posted a review for me, namely:

Thank you john

Thank you Boaty XS

Thank you Chip

A big thank you to Lord Arcane for giving me my new motto, "Reviews are like steroids for me."

Thank you Peter Kim

Thank you TheChazMan

Thank you Jasmine Reinier

Thank you Leon.l

Thank you starauthor23

Thank you Fairy Red

Thank you Mario72496 for the idea of Team Blitz

Whew...now that we're done with the thanks, let's move on to our next order of business.

I need evaluations from you guys about my fic so far. It's been a while since I have actually heard an evaluation that said Demon Duelist Legacy was missing something. I'm not so egoistical to think that means my work is perfect.

So if you could please send in a review telling me what my story is missing, how the plot-line is, etc. I would eternally grateful to you if you did. As always I also accept anonymous reviews.

Please send in your reviews, because just like Arcane Lord said, they are my steroids. They let me know that people are actually reading my work, and it always motivates me to write more chapters. Alright, you can go and review now, I'm done rambling.


	33. Puppet without strings

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 33: A puppet without strings

_Her hand inched towards her deck and she drew..._

Rebecca looked at the card in her hand with a mix of anger and awe. ("This isn't the card I wanted, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.") She slid it into her deck. "I play the magic card Annihilation. At the cost of 2000 life points I may send all cards on our fields and in our hands straight to the graveyard."

Rebecca- 900

Kaigen- 7650

Both she and Kaigen piled all of their cards up and slid them into the graveyard, leaving the entire field clear.

Rebecca nodded to her silent opponent. "End turn."

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Every duelist on the side-lines was frowning.

"Yug, that wasn't a very good idea. By destroying all of her defenses she's left herself wide open to an attack."

Yugi nodded at Joey. "That's true Joey, but she couldn't attack because of Kaigen's other face-down cards. Now she can."

Siegfried's eyes had yet to leave the field. "She had only 900 life points remaining. If Kaigen draws a monster then she is finished."

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Giovan tapped his fingers together in anticipation. If Kaigen could draw a monster card that he could summon than he had won. Something wasn't right about this situation though... ("My control over him is slipping...")

He extended his will outwards, wrapping it around Kaigen's brain and squeezing tightly. ("You dare to disobey me at a time like this!?")

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Rebecca jumped back in surprise as Kaigen fell to his knees screaming.

The cloaked man clutched his head as if he was in pain. His monotone voice broke into a panicked scream. "No please......not again....the flames!!" His right hand slid over to his deck and he drew.

Shakily he looked at the card and slapped it onto the field. "I....summon La Jinn." (1800/800) A green genie appeared and bowed to his master.

Rebecca could already feel her eyes misting over. She had lost. She braced herself for the attack that would destroy her.

It never came....

"End......turn." Kaigen's voice sounded like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

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Giovan felt his calm demeanor start to break. His will launched forth again and nearly crushed Kaigen's mind with the intensity of his anger. ("YOU DARE TO DISOBEY!?!?")

_("I...I...'m...done...being...your puppet...")_

Giovan sneered from his seat. He manifested himself further within his puppet's brain. ("So that's the way you want it?")

_("............")_

Giovan's mental image smiled and raised its out-stretched palm to the floating consciousness in front of it. ("If you won't win this duel then I will.")

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As quickly as Kaigen had collapsed in pain he just as quickly got back to his feet, looking fine. "I may have ended my turn, but don't take it as mercy. I would never show mercy to a bitch such as you."

Rebecca could tell that something was wrong with him. Before his voice had either been angry or monotone. This new tone he had taken on was something completely different though. It was like she was suddenly dueling with someone else.

She drew and placed a monster in defense mode. "I'll set this monster face-down and end my turn."

Kaigen drew his next card and pointed at her. "Now La Jinn, crush this pathetic defender of hers!" The genie took a deep breath and then exhaled a spray of flames that instantly consumed Rebecca's face-down monster.

As Rebecca slid her monster card into the graveyard she ventured to ask, "So, what's the matter Kaigen? You seem so much more animate than before."

From beneath his robes Kaigen snickered. "Silence yourself wench, before I kill you." He placed the card he had drawn down next to his La Jinn on his disk. "I set one monster and end my turn."

Rebecca drew and she couldn't help herself. She had to smile. "Be careful who you are calling a wench Kaigen. It's no way for a gentleman to act."

Kaigen snorted haughtily, "Who ever said that I was a gentleman?"

Rebecca slid her card into her duel disk. "I'm inclined to agree with that. Anyway, I play the magic card Replay. At the cost of half of my life points I may re-use any magic card from my graveyard. I will re-use Pot of Greed."

Rebecca- 450

Kaigen- 7650

She drew her two new cards and grinned. "I just love luck."

Kaigen snorted again. "What a lousy bluff."

Rebecca sighed and shook her head. "Jeez you are a let-down. I'm sure you must be a riot at parties."

She slid one of her cards into her duel disk. "I activate the magic card Change of Heart, which seizes control of your face-down monster." An angel appeared on the field and floated over to the face-down monster. She blew it a kiss and it slid over to Rebecca's field.

Rebecca flipped the monster up and winked at the Emissary. "Aww, how cute! I didn't know a guy like you had a soft spot for Kuriboh." (300/200) She flipped the creature up to reveal a brown furball with little green claws and feet.

The glow of Kaigen's crimson eyes was glowing like a small fire now. "Don't you dare mock me..."

Rebecca slid the cute card into her graveyard. "Fine. I'll sacrifice the Kuriboh to summon Airknight Parshath (1900/1400) in attack mode." A white centaur appeared on her field and whinnied.

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Up in his seat, Giovan felt his control slipping away. Kaigen was proving harder and harder to keep control of now. Bracing himself for the feeling of disorientation that would accompany it, Giovan extended his consciousness even farther into his puppet's mind. ("You will not make a fool of me!")

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Rebecca pointed at Kaigen's La Jinn. "Airknight Parshath attack!" The centaur knight launched across the field and in one slash he was the only monster on the field.

Rebecca- 450

Kaigen- 7550

Rebecca drew a card off the top of her deck. "Let me explain my Airknight's special ability to you. Whenever he deals battle damage to you I may draw one card off the top of my deck." She looked at her new card and slid it into her disk. "I'll set this and end my turn."

Kaigen drew and started to laugh, his eyes never leaving the card.

Rebecca raised one of her eyebrows. "Did I miss something?"

Kaigen's crimson eyes lifted to look at her. "Are you ready to burn little wench? Are you ready to face the flames? I have drawn the card that will leave nothing left of you but a memory and a few tears from your friends." He moved to slide the card into his duel disk, but stopped halfway. "End turn!" He seemed to have trouble spitting the words out.

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("NO!! WE HAD HER!!") Giovan extended more of his consciousness into the brain of the vessel that was standing on the field.

He had the win in his hands right there and then! Kaigen had drawn the Hell Meteor magic card. It would have killed the girl instantly.

In his anger he squeezed the original consciousness of his puppet just a little harder, drawing some small pleasure from watching the mental body before him writhe in pain on the ground. "You may have gotten control of your body before, but this time it will be different. The little brat has one turn to beat you. If she cannot then she will face the Hell Meteor in all of its deadly glory."

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Rebecca, eyebrows still up in surprise, drew. "I think you need to go sit down or something. What was all of that junk about me facing the flames?"

Kaigen's voice still rang with that disturbing sneer in it. "We're having minor technical difficulties."

Rebecca shook her head and slid her card into her duel disk. "I'll set this card and then I'll attack you with Airknight Parshath!" The centaur launched across the field and slammed its sword right into Kaigen's chest. He stumbled backwards amidst a spray of blood that had blossomed from his chest.

Rebecca- 450

Kaigen- 5850

Refusing to let the sympathy she was feeling get in her way, Rebecca drew her card from Airknight Parshath's effect. She slid it into her duel disk. "I'll set one more card and I will end my turn."

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Giovan sneered from within his puppet's mind. He extended his will even farther into Kaigen's brain. ("You will not deny me this time.")

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Yugi looked up at the comatose Giovan. He looked over at Kaigen next and nodded. ("So that's it...")

From within his mind Yami had just come to the same conclusion. _("Kaigen is nothing more than a mind-controlled human being.")_

Yugi looked back over at the cloaked Emissary. ("Is that why he has passed twice? From the way he made it sound, he had perfect control of the duel. Both times though he didn't finish it.")

_("That's exactly it. Kaigen must be fighting off Giovan's control.")_

("Can we help him?")

_("In fact we can actually.")_ From within the passage-ways of Yugi's mind, Yami extended his own will towards Kaigen.

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As Yami's extension arrived he immediately could see the damage that had been caused. The stone of the soul room around him was cracked and broken. ("This poor being is on the verge of having his mind destroyed completely. It is by sheer will alone that he is fighting now. I feel no hope left in his mind. Nothing left but a stubbornness not to lose.")

He walked down the hallways for a few minutes, until he finally found a large steel door. His hand curled around the handle to the door and he slowly opened it, readying himself to jump back in case he was walking into a trap.

The area he had entered must have been the main consciousness. Around him was the darkness that represented someone's mental projections of themselves. This was the place for someone to project themselves if they had not realized the existence of their soul room yet.

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Giovan was about to draw his next card, but the feeling of another person entering Kaigen's mind had stopped him. ("Someone is here. It must be the pharaoh, here to interrupt my fun.") He made sure that his will was firmly holding Kaigen in place and then he walked towards the door her had used to enter this place. ("You will not foil me Yami. I will kill you in this place.")

He fully extended his will into Kaigen's mind, giving himself a solid 'body' in this place. He looked down at his claws and smiled. ("It's been too long since I have eviscerated anyone. Now was I supposed to puncture the internal organs or simply pull them out for the victim to see?") He continued to rack his brain for the answer while he approached Yami's position.

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Rebecca tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Kaigen to make his move. He had been standing there for over three minutes now and had yet to say or do anything. "Earth to sick freak of nature...WAKE UP!" Kaigen still didn't respond.

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Yami felt Giovan approaching him. He prepared himself to do mental battle. In this place he was going to have to release his full mental power.

Seconds later he saw the faint form of Giovan Garlin in the distance. "I thought I might find you here Garlin."

Giovan stopped about five feet from Yami, smiling to reveal his fangs. He raised one hand to show that it had transformed to a black armored claw. "Hello to you too pharaoh."

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Rebecca sighed and watched the inanimate statue that was Kaigen. She was sitting cross-legged and even the holographic projection of her Airknight Parshath looked bored now. It had been over ten minutes and her opponent had yet to move a muscle.

She would have asked for him to be disqualified, but up in his chair Giovan was in a similar state.

So all she could do was sit there and start to fall asleep.

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Yami screamed in pain as he was thrown backwards by another blast of darkness from Giovan. He managed to erect enough of a barrier to prevent himself from being launched off into mental oblivion though. Pushing with his every bit of mental strength he had he managed to thrust the blast aside and counter with his own golden energy in the form of a spear of light.

Giovan threw one of his claws up and clenched his teeth in pain as the weapon pierced his wrist. It dug in farther and farther, until he finally felt the force behind it weaken enough for him to fling it aside. Despite his mental wound, he knew that he could keep fighting for at least another hour.

Yami on the other hand didn't feel so well. He had never quite faced someone as powerful as this before. Even Marik's magical strength did not equal the power that this being was projecting. "Ready to give up Garlin?"

"Do I look that weak to you Yami?" Giovan felt his energy flowing through his claws. He lifted his claw and launched across the expanse of blackness, ready to run the pharaoh through. "Prepare to die fool!"

Yami threw up another barrier of mental energy, trying with all of his might to resist the dark energy. As the claw hit it looked for a moment like that Yami's barrier would hold against the assault...

Unfortunately it only looked that way for a moment...

Yami's barrier started to bend and twist, small cracks appearing in its edges. He threw more energy against it to reinforce it, but it was too late to repair the damage. The cracks started to spread.

Giovan sneered from the other side of the barrier. "As soon as your little shield is gone pharaoh, I will kill you."

Yami was too busy trying to strengthen his defenses to answer.

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Twenty minutes had passed...

Rebecca was too busy watching as an aura of both gold and black light sprang up around Kaigen's body. His hood flapped in the wind that had picked up around him. The black and gold auras seemed to be battling, tearing away at each other like enraged animals.

She was about to ask someone on the side-lines what was going on, but then the aura's blew the hood of Kaigen's cloak off. Whatever words she had planned to say died in her throat....

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: Crazy stuff abound! Mental battles and random insanity in the next chapter! Lemme go write it first though.


	34. Cutting the strings

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh or anything that has to do with Yugioh.

Chapter 34: Cutting the strings

_Yami's barrier started to bend and twist, small cracks appearing in it. He threw more energy against it to reinforce it, but it was too late to repair the damage. The cracks started to spread._

_Giovan sneered from the other side of the barrier. "As soon as your little shield is gone pharaoh, I will kill you."_

_Yami was too busy trying to strengthen his defenses to answer._

Giovan felt the edges of his claw pierce the barrier, and start their slow advance on the pharaoh. "Looks like you are out of time Yami. Say whatever prayers you wish to your gods. You will not survive this." With one final push the barrier shattered and Giovan's black streaked claw was heading in a downward arc for Yami's chest.

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_Rebecca was too busy watching as an aura of both gold and black sprang up around Kaigen's body. His hood flapped in the wind that had picked up around him. The black and gold auras seemed to be battling, tearing away at each other like enraged animals._

_She was about to ask someone on the side-lines what was going on, but then the aura's blew the hood of Kaigen's cloak off. Whatever words she had planned to say died in her throat..._

"Daniel...." She fell to her knees, eyes wide open in shock. Her mind reeled at the impossibility of the situation. ("He's alive...")

Standing before her was her brother. His red hair had looked like someone had put it through an egg beater fifty times, and his eyes may have been sunken and lined with dark circles, but it was her brother. Something was wrong though...

It was his eyes. They were flickering in color, going from blood crimson to a deep violet within a matter of seconds. His irises continued to shift insanely. It was almost as if something was trying to get out of his body. He stared blankly forward, mouth ajar slightly.

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Yami was thrown through the air, spectral blood spraying from the wound in his arm. He bounced and skidded a few times along the phantom ground, before finally coming to a stop at the edge of the door that led into Daniel's soul room. His head lifted slightly and he managed one weak growl of frustration before he slumped, pain draining the strength from his limbs.

Giovan slowly trudged back to the mental portal that connected Daniel's mind to Daniel's body. He wouldn't lose his newest servant. Not to anyone. Not until he killed the little wench who had dared to insult him. ("None shall oppose me. I am king...")

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Yugi looked down at the Millennium Puzzle in concern. It was glowing brightly. ("Yami? Are you okay?") When he got no response he felt the icy touch of fear grip his heart. He knew that if he went into the puzzle then no one out here would be able to reach him if they needed his help out here. Finally he decided just to trust in Yami and hope his friend was alright.

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Giovan saw it right in front of him. The pulsing core of dark light that symbolized the portal from Daniel's mind to Daniel's body. ("I know that you can hear me Daniel.")

He felt his servant's mental body slowly lift its head. ("So, are you ready to watch as I kill your sister?")

Daniel's weak cry reached his ears. _("Don't......")_

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The chaotic light show in Daniel's eyes had gone back to a solid bright crimson again. His open mouth closed into a sneer.

Rebecca stared in horror. This wasn't her brother. "Who are you!? What have you done with Daniel!?"

Kaigen/Giovan smiled and pointed up at the soulless body that sat in the chair up in the balcony. "That would be who I am, little wench."

If glares could kill, Rebecca's would have destroyed Kaigen in an instant. "Why are you doing this to my brother!? You said that he was going to die, not be your slave!"

Kaigen continued to sneer. "That was a little twist on words. You see Daniel Pilkington did die in that duel. All that is left is his body and a twisted husk of a mind." He lifted up his hand and drew off the top of his deck. "Now get ready because here is your demise. I play the magic card..."

He stopped in mid-sentence and fell to one knee, eyes wide in surprise. The crimson glow of his irises dimmed, and it was being replaced by an odd mix of crimson and violet light.

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Giovan felt Yami pull him back out of the portal slowly. "You would dare oppose me again!?"

Yami put all that remained of his waning mental strength into throwing Giovan away from the portal. ("If I can seize control of Daniel and make him tear up the Hell Meteor card, then Rebecca will be safe!") He lunged for the portal, only to be tackled in mid-air and sent into a rolling heap.

Giovan looked at the form of the pharaoh with rage clear in his eyes. "Idiotic human. For you to think that your pitiful power could match me in here." He lifted his hand and a ball of black energy began to develop. "I will destroy you right now."

He was so intent on killing Yami that he didn't sense someone charging him from behind until he was flying through the air. He quickly recovered from his surprise and skidded to a halt in mid-air.

Next to the portal was Daniel. The boy's mental image was cut and bloodied, but still very much alive. Eyes that burned with a righteous fury glared at the torture king as Daniel croaked out, "I lost to you in that duel...but I won't let you hurt her! I don't care what deal we had!" He tried to summon up some kind of weapon or power from the darkness around him, but nothing happened.

Giovan's laughter brought him back to the reality of the situation. "What are you going to do about it boy? This isn't your mind anymore. The only reason you still exist is because you entertain me with your pitiful screams of pain. That and your body will die if you are destroyed." He began to slowly approach his prey.

Daniel didn't know what to do. He couldn't hope to fight this guy off on his own. He looked over at the prostrate form of Yami. ("I can't fight him. Yami is the only one with enough power to fight him in here.") He had no choice though. Yelling a wordless cry of anger, he charged Giovan...

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Daniel's body twitched for a moment and then his irises turned full crimson again.

Rebecca felt tears begin to develop in her eyes as she looked upon Kaigen again. Her brother was gone. "No..."

Kaigen threw his head back and laughed maniacally, the sound echoing off of the cold steel walls. "YES!! No one can challenge me! I am the king!"

He literally slammed his magic card into the duel disk slot. "NOW DIE BITCH! I PLAY HELL METEOR!" Above the sky screamed in pain and tore open, revealing the dark dimension where a ball of black and red flame was rapidly developing.

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Giovan was smiling from ear to ear within Daniel's mind...

"I've won. I just defeated the pharaoh and now this insolent boy is about to watch his sister be immolated. Life is good when you are king." He sat back to watch the show, not noticing that the darkness around him had started to grow thicker and deeper.

If he had been paying attention to his surroundings then he might have noticed the pair of gold-amber eyes that were watching him in the gathering darkness.

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Rebecca watched the house-sized ball of red and black flame finish growing. Then it slowly began its descent towards her. From below her she could hear the others yelling at her to run for cover and to get off of the dueling ring. Her attention wasn't on them though. It was on the Hell Meteor that was flying towards her. In her mind, it represented the evil that was within her brother. It was an evil that she planned to purge right now.

Kaigen crossed his arms across his chest and chuckled. "I see you accept your fate? That's too bad, I wanted to watch you scream and run in terror." He shrugged acceptingly. "Oh well though, at least you are going to die."

Rebecca pressed a button her duel disk. "I beg to differ..."

The meteor froze in mid-air and started to shrink, the flames diminishing to nothing.

Kaigen's crimson eyes were locked in a state of shock. "It...how..."

Rebecca held up her middle face-down card. "Your Hell Meteor magic card triggered my Draining Screen trap card. It negates all damage I would take from one source and increases my life points by that amount instead. That means that your evil has been removed. You've lost your best weapon in this duel."

Rebecca- 4450

Kaigen- 5850

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From within Daniel's mind, Giovan roared in rage. "DAMN YOU!!" He had been robbed of his prize.

He spun around to find Daniel's mental body. If he couldn't kill the wench, then he would kill her brother. At least he could get some small satisfaction out of killing one Pilkington this day.

The only thing he saw when he turned around was darkness. "Where'd he go!?"

Behind him a low growl rumbled out right next to his ear. Giovan spun around, only to find nothing there. He could feel something out there in the darkness of Daniel's mind. It was stalking him slowly.

His initial fear quickly changed into rage. "I don't know who you are. I don't care either!" He raised his claw and began to fire blasts of his dark mental energy into the darkness.

A few seconds passed and all he could hear was silence. Then the silence was broken by a rough laugh that echoed in the cold nothingness around him.

Giovan was about to begin firing again, but someone tapped his on the shoulder silently. The demon king spun to find himself face to face with a pair of gold-amber eyes. "Rikuo!!"

That was all he got to say right before Rikuo's claw pierced right into his chest and ripped out his heart. Giovan looked down at the hole in his chest in horror. Using every ounce of his remaining strength, he withdrew his consciousness from Daniel's mind as quickly as he could.

As Giovan's mental body started to fade, he heard the wolf demon say calmly, "Funny how history repeats itself sometimes, huh?"

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The eyes of Giovan's body snapped open and he clutched at his chest where Rikuo's mental claws had pierced him. After checking for a moment and making sure that he was alright, he looked out at the field and the now vacant body of Daniel. ("I thought I got rid of that blasted wolf when I took control of Daniel's mind. How did he survive!?") He clenched his fists tightly and grinded his teeth. ("It matters not. This was just a minor set-back. In the end I will emerge the victor!")

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Rikuo looked down at the wounded mental body of Daniel and he sighed. "How in the bloody hell do you get yourself into these messes?" He brushed a lock of Daniel's hair back and stood up. Now was not the time for reflection. Now was the time for action.

The wolf demon walked up to the prone form of Yami and kicked the floored pharaoh in the side a couple of times. "You alive?" When Yami coughed in pain Rikuo walked over to the portal. "I'd advise you to still be here when I get back. I have some questions for you." With that he stepped in.

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Daniel's body changed yet again. This time his vacant eyes slotted and turned gold-amber. His red hair lengthened to his back and his fingernails lengthened to form claws. From the back of his bodysuit a black wolf's tail sprung free and curled around his waist reflexively.

Rebecca knew instantly who she was facing this time. "It's you...Rikuo, right?"

Rikuo chuckled and nodded. "That would be me." He turned his head to look up at Giovan, who was glaring in anger at him. "Aw, you're still alive Sestros?"

With every fiber in his body Giovan wanted to smite Rikuo right then and there, but he was too tired from his battle against Yami to do much more then glare.

Rikuo threw him a wink and then looked back to Rebecca. "Your brother is fine. He will most likely be out of reach for a little while though. He has been through the wringer, in every sense of the term."

Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. "I really couldn't care about that. Just as long as he will be alright."

Rikuo nodded to her and announced, "Kaigen surrenders this duel to Rebecca Pilkington. Which means that Team Topdeck is going to the finals." He looked up at Giovan. "Right?" His smirk left no room for argument.

Giovan frowned but nodded. "Correct. Team Topdeck has gathered the necessary wins to get themselves a position in the finals of the tournament." He hid his growl of frustration amidst the cheering from the duelists on the side-lines.

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When the ring lowered to ground level Rikuo hopped down and instantly found himself surrounded by the other duelists. Every instinct in his body wanted him to snarl and let them know he didn't like being stared at, but he knew that it would be best if their first impression of him was a good one, so he stayed silent and let them all look him over.

"That was quite an impressive victory you had Rebecca," said Siegfried from off to the side, drawing a little brush from Rebecca's cheeks. If anyone had been listening closely they would have heard a threateningly low growl which was aimed at Siegfried escape Rikuo's throat.

The ex-general of war tilted his head to the side and came face to face with Joey, whose face was inches from his own. "Can I help you?"

Joey nodded sagely and gave his evaluation. "Even though you look scary, I guess you aren't evil. I mean you did forfeit the duel to Rebecca." Everyone else nodded in agreement with that.

Rikuo rolled his eyes and looked away from the blond-haired duelist. "The only reason I did that is because the little girl has nothing to do with my war against Sestros. Which reminds me..." He made sure that his glare met everyones' eyes in turn.

"If any of you dare to try and rob me of the pleasure of ripping Sestro's heart out of his chest, then I will have no qualms with killing you. Are we are clear?" He got pale nods from almost everyone, Siegfried, Devan, and Kaiba excluded. By the look in their eyes though, he knew that they had no intention of stopping him when the time came for Giovan to face judgment.

Looking back at Rebecca, Rikuo gave her a slight smile. "I'm going to be out of reach for an hour, so don't panic when I collapse." He didn't wait for her nod of affirmation. He didn't really care what she thought about it.

He looked over at Yugi next. "I'm going to borrow the pharaoh too. I need to speak with him on some matters." Without another word his body slumped to the ground, now vacant of any controller.

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From within the abyss of Daniel's mind, Rikuo walked over to the now standing Yami. "I'm glad to see that you decided to stay. It would have been inconvenient for me to chase after you." He knew for a fact that he could not leave Daniel's body, but it didn't hurt to bluff.

Yami clutched his still bloody arm and frowned. "I didn't stay here for you demon. I stayed here because your host is still in a state of mental shock." He motioned with his still good hand over at the curled up body of Daniel.

Rikuo snorted and hefted his host's body over his shoulder. "He'll be fine. A little psychological trauma builds character."

Yami sighed and trudged past him, heading in the direction of the soul door that led to Daniel's room. "You don't know the first thing about the human psyche, do you?"

Rikuo chuckled and scratched the back of his head, despite the severity of the situation. "Nope."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Recovery; Blitz vs. Domino

Author's notes: Before any of you complain about Rikuo so easily dispatching Giovan, keep in mind that this was within a battlefield of the mind. Here, perceived strength is much more important than real strength. Perceived strength is something that the prideful Rikuo has in spades and beyond. Giovan has it too, but he was drained from his battle against Yami. Anyhow, please read and review.

P.S. I know that I didn't address what is wrong with Daniel, but all of that will be explained in the next chapter.


	35. Team Blitz vs Team Domino Part 1

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Yugioh at all.

Chapter 35: Recovery; Blitz vs. Domino

_Daniel screamed as he felt the flames around him sear deep into his flesh. No matter how hard he tried he could not get away from it. It didn't matter where he ran to, the fire always found him. He heard a voice laughing in distance, but that was the last thing on his mind..._

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Rikuo whistled at he looked upon the interior of his other half's soul room. "Talk about your high living..."

The inside of the room was decorated with all kinds of posters and paintings, many of which were of duel monsters cards. On the far wall there was a large poster of Daniel flashing the victory symbol to the camera. Right next to it there was a picture of Rikuo, which was flipping the bird at the picture.

Rikuo scratched at his chin. "Now when did that happen? I don't ever remember my picture being taken."

Yami collapsed in a nearby chair and sighed. "It never did. That is Daniel's mental representation of you. Apparently you don't treat him very well."

Rikuo dropped the body of his host to the stone floor with a thud and shrugged. "It's true. His weakness irritates me to no end."

Yami rubbed his eyes tiredly with his hands. "Have you ever thought about having a more friendly relationship with your hikari?"

Rikuo raised an eyebrow in confusion at the unfamiliar term. "My what?"

Yami repeated himself. "Your hikari." The wolf demon threw him another confused look.

"Hikari means him." Yami pointed at Daniel.

Rikuo nodded in understanding. "So hikari means pain in the ass?"

Yami collapsed back into the chair and threw up his hands in exasperation. "Why am I even bothering!? You're not even willing to help him, are you?"

Rikuo walked past the twitching form of Daniel and collapsed on a couch. "Damn straight pharaoh. I'm in no mood to help that weakling overcome his little mental pains. I'm not his psychiatrist."

Yami frowned and crossed his legs. If he couldn't convince Rikuo to help Daniel then at least he could gain back his strength and try to help the boy himself. He almost slipped into a meditative trance, but a sharp cough brought him back to reality. He opened one violet eye slightly. "What Rikuo?"

"You have any idea where he keeps the food?" When Yami groaned in frustration and shut his eye, Rikuo shrugged and went back to searching for something to eat.

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Giovan looked down at the two remaining teams of duelists. "We will not be using the COCs for this round, so by all means choose who will go against whom for your duels." Before he had even finished speaking Joey was already in the dueling ring.

Crystal smiled at Devan and Siegfried. "I'll deal with this one, alright?" They both nodded and she climbed into the dueling ring.

Giovan nodded and lifted his hand. "First match of Team Blitz vs. Team Domino! Crystal Simmons vs. Joey Wheeler! Begin!" The ring groaned as it was lifted up above ground level.

Joey's duel disk clicked into place and he grinned at her. "Ready? Cause I'm about to take you down."

Crystal smiled warmly at her opponent while her duel disk clicked into place. "I somehow doubt it, but if you say so..."

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Yami's eyes slowly opened and he looked at his fully healed arm. After flexing it a couple of times and making sure that his strength was back, he took in his surroundings to see if anything had changed since he had gone into meditation.

What greeted him was what would happen if somewhere had been hit by a tornado. Random articles of paper had been strewn all around the room, and a couple of the nearby chairs had been overturned. Posters had been ripped off the walls and throw into a pile in the corner. And in the center of it all was Rikuo, who had curled himself up on top of a couch and was snoring loudly.

Yami put his hand over his eyes and shook his head. ("This is ridiculous! What kind of protector is this guy supposed to be!?") He stood up in his seat and went over to sweating form of Daniel. Placing his hand upon the boy's forehead he frowned. ("He's burning up.") He placed his hands down on Daniel's chest and concentrated his energies into melding his mind with the boy's. If he was going to repair the damage that Giovan had done to Daniel's psyche then he needed to attack the problem at its source.

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Joey drew his five cards. "If you're so sure that you will win this duel then why not let me go first?"

Crystal shrugged nonchalantly. "As you wish Joey."

Joey drew and gave his hand a quick once over. ("Not a half bad start.") He slid two cards into his duel disk. "I'll set these two cards face-down." Then he placed a monster face-up on his disk. "Then I'll summon Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) in attack mode!" A little warrior appeared on his field. "End turn."

Crystal drew and with the same practiced precision of the rest of her team she placed a monster card onto her duel disk immediately. "I summon Gagigio (1850/1000) in attack mode." A teal green humanoid reptile appeared on her field. "Now attack his Swordsman!" It lunged across the field, claws out-stretched to tear Joey's monster down.

Joey waved his finger in the air towards her. "Now I would think you would know better than that." He flipped up one of his face-down cards. "I reveal the magic card Graceful Dice." A little angel with a large blue die in its hands appeared on his field, right above his Swordsman of Landstar. "Whatever number the die lands on is how much my monster's attack will be raised by. So go Graceful Dice!"

The little fairy threw the die and it landed on a five. There was a flash of light and the Swordsman's attack power skyrocketed. (2500/1200)

Joey grinned and pointed at the still charging Gagigio. "Go Swordsman of Landstar! Attack her monster now!"

In one slash Crystal's monster was gone.

Joey- 8000

Crystal- 7350

Crystal frowned and slid a card into her duel disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Joey drew and slapped down a new monster. "Get ready to lose a lot of life points Crystal, I summon Axe Raider (1700/1150) in attack mode." A golden armored soldier wielding an axe appeared on his field.

Crystal pressed a button on her duel disk. "I was hoping that you would get greedy Joey. I activate the trap card Torrential Tribute." The entire dueling field was consumed by a sudden tidal wave of water. "This trap triggers when you summon a monster. It will destroy all creatures on the field." The water in the middle of the field receded to show that Joey's two monsters were gone. All that was left was his face-down card.

Joey grimaced and slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "I'll set this and end my turn."

Crystal gingerly drew off the top of her deck and giggled. "Ready to start losing Joey?" When he didn't respond, she shrugged and popped open the field magic card slot on her duel disk. She slid the card into it. "I play the field magic card A Legendary Ocean." All around the two of them ruins of an ancient city appeared. "As long as this magic card remains on the field then all water attribute monsters in my hand are one level lower. Also, all water attribute monsters also gain 200 attack and defense points."

Joey looked at his two face-down cards hopefully. They were the only thing between Crystal and his life points.

Crystal noticed Joey's look and shook her head. "You should know that the ocean possesses many different storms." She slid a card into her duel disk. "Like this magic card for example. I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your card on the right." The air around Joey's face-down card warped and spun into a tornado that instantly annihilated his face-down card.

Joey looked at his Graverobber trap card sadly and slid it into his graveyard. He could have used that to steal Crystal's Torrential Tribute and wipe out whatever monster she summoned.

Crystal slapped a new monster onto her duel disk. "I summon Catapult Turtle (1200/2200) in defense mode." A mechanical turtle appeared on her field, its head and legs withdrawn into its steel body.

She slid a card into her duel disk and nodded to Joey. "I set this card face-down and end my turn."

Joey drew and all of his worries were gone the instant he laid his eyes on his newest card. ("Alright, time to turn this duel around.") He slapped a monster onto his duel disk. "I summon Blue Flame Swordsman (1800/1600) in attack mode!" A burly warrior wielding a flaming blue sword appeared on his field. When Crystal didn't activate any of her traps, he grinned and slid a card into his duel disk. "Next up I play the magic card Starpluster. This allows me to sacrifice a monster on my field and roll a die. Then I take the level of the sacrificed monster and add it to whatever number comes up on the dice roll. If I have a monster in my hand that has a level equal to the final total, I can special summon it."

The Blue Flame Swordsman disappeared and in his place was a glowing golden die. Joey placed the die into his palm, shook it up a little, and then threw it. "Come on luck!" The golden die bounced around a little and finally stopped on a two. "That means that I get to summon a level six monster from my hand to the field." Joey took the last card in his hand and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "And it just so happens that I have a monster that is that level. I special summon Jinzo!" (2400/1500)

On his field a green armored humanoid appeared and crossed its arms across its chest. The red lenses of its eyes shimmered and Crystal's face-down card, which was about to flip up, froze in place.

Joey waved his finger at Crystal condescendingly. "Tsk tsk tsk....Didn't you know that as long as Jinzo is on the field all trap cards are useless?" When Crystal's expression changed to one of distress he smirked and popped his deck out of his duel disk. "Oh, and did you know that when Blue Flame Swordsman is sent to the graveyard I may special summon Flame Swordsman (1800/1600) to the field from my hand or deck?" He placed down the new monster card onto his duel disk and another burly warrior, this one wielding a red flaming sword, appeared on his field.

Joey motioned to his Jinzo. "Now take care of that overgrown steel reptile!" Jinzo charged up a ball of dark energy between his palms and launched at Crystal's Catapult Turtle, instantly destroying the creature and leaving Crystal wide open to a direct attack. "Now go after her life points Flame Swordsman!" The warrior launched across the field and slammed his flaming weapon down onto Crystal, bringing the green-haired girl to her knees.

Joey- 8000

Crystal- 5550

Joey flashed his teammates the victory sign and winked to Crystal. "End turn."

Crystal frowned and drew. "You would dare to take me lightly in this duel?"

Joey shrugged. "I've got two powerful monsters on my field and you've got nothing but a useless trap and a little field magic card in play. I'm not that scared."

Crystal looked at her newest card and placed it onto her disk. "Then you are truly a hopeless fool Joey Wheeler. For now I summon the mighty Giga Gagigio (2650/1400) in attack mode." A cybernetic version of the reptile monster that Crystal had played earlier appeared on her field. "Now attack his Flame Swordsman!" The monster launched across the field and slashed its new steel claws across the stomach of Joey's monster. Seconds later the Flame Swordsman blew into pieces.

Joey- 7150

Crystal- 5550

With the duel now in her favor again, Crystal returned Joey's smirk. "End turn."

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_Daniel was laying face-down in the hot dirt, the flames still burning at his skin. He couldn't see anymore. He didn't want to see anymore._

_Pain washed across his back as he felt something spear into his spine. The force of the blow told him that he should be paralyzed, but somehow he knew that he could not be paralyzed in this place. He could not die either..._

_He was doomed to spend eternity in pain..._

"_**Is that what you think? Do you really believe that anyone can trap you inside your own mind?"**_

_Daniel didn't understand..._

_How could this voice in his head dispute the fact that he was meant to suffer for eternity?_

"**_I dispute it because it is not true. This is your mind Daniel. In this place you are the one who controls everything about it. Giovan sealed you within your mind so that he could keep you locked in stasis until he needed you to do things for him. That is no longer the case. Can you not remember when you shattered his hold on you because your sister was in danger?"_**

_The voice was soothing. It wanted to help him. He knew the truth about his situation though. He was doomed to burn in this place for the rest of his time among the living. And because of the nature of this place, he would be suffering for a very long time..._

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Yami sighed and broke his mental link with Daniel. He could do no more than try and offer advice to the boy. ("There's only one person who can actually help him physically and that would be...")

"I knew he had food in here somewhere! Just look at all of this beef jerky!!" Rikuo hopped up from behind a counter with an arm-load of bags of random snack foods. "Hey Yami, you want some?"

Said pharaoh just stared at Rikuo. ("Daniel's doomed....")

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Recovery; Blitz vs. Domino (Part 2)


	36. Team Blitz vs Team Domino Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 36: Recovery; Team Blitz vs. Team Domino (Part 2)

_Crystal looked at her newest card and placed it onto her disk. "Then you are truly a hopeless fool Joey Wheeler. For now I summon the mighty Giga Gagigio (2650/1400) in attack mode." A cybernetic version of the reptile monster that Crystal had played earlier appeared on her field. "Now attack his Flame Swordsman!" The monster launched across the field and slashed its new steel claws across the stomach of Joey's monster. Seconds later the Flame Swordsman blew into pieces. _

_Joey- 7150_

_Crystal- 5550_

_With the duel now in her favor again, Crystal returned Joey's smirk. "End turn."_

Joey drew and frowned at his card. ("Aw man.") "I guess I gotta set this monster. I'll switch Jinzo to defense mode too. End turn."

Crystal drew and slid her new card into her disk. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive Catapult Turtle in defense mode." The steel turtle reappeared in a withdrawn position on her field. "Then I play my ultimate defender, Revival Jam, (1500/500) in defense mode." A blob of blue slime appeared on her field.

Joey's frown deepened as he looked upon the indestructible defender on Crystal's field. ("Her Revival Jam is immune to attacks. She might as well just tell me not to bother attacking anymore...")

Crystal pointed at Joey's face-down monster. "Go Giga Gagigio! Attack his Jinzo!" The cybernetic reptile dove into the holographic water of Crystal's Legendary Ocean magic card. A moment later her monster reappeared right behind Joey's Jinzo, dragging the metal monster underwater. The water around that area bubbled for a few moments and then went still. "End turn."

Joey closed his eyes. ("Please, give me the card I need...") He drew...

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Rikuo watched as for the fifth time Yami merged with Daniel's mind to try and undo the damage that Giovan had caused.

"It's a waste of time, you know that right?" The wolf demon murmured as he took a bite of the hunk of beef jerky he was clutching in his hand.

Yami ignored him. He had to try again. He couldn't leave this boy to spend the rest of his life trapped in a mental hell.

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Joey slid his new card into his duel disk. "Time to up the ante of this duel! I play the magic card Treasure of Fate!" In the air of front of him a white die appeared and hit the ground, bouncing about the field. "Whatever number this die stops on will decide how many cards I may draw off the top of my deck. After that I gotta take that same number of cards off my deck and remove them from the game." The die finally came to a stop on a four. Joey drew his four new cards and then took another four cards off, sliding the second set of four into his back pocket.

He looked his hand over and nodded to himself. ("This should work....I hope.")

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Rikuo watched lazily as Yami tried yet again to bring Daniel back from the edge of oblivion. "Why are you wasting your time on him? It's not like he will make the difference in the battle against Sestros." Yami glared at him and then returned his attention to his patient.

Rikuo snorted and decided to wander around the soul room a little bit.

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Joey slid a card into his duel disk. "I play Time Wizard (500/500) in its magic card form!" A clock holding onto a staff with a spinner on top of it appeared. "Now the Time Wizard will spin its spinner. If it lands on a time machine then 1000 years will pass, either destroying or weakening all your monsters."

Crystal narrowed her eyes. "What about your face-down monster?"

Joey tapped his forehead. "I'll be fine. My face-down monster is a Baby Dragon. (1200/800) If Time Wizard's effect goes off then my monster will be transformed into a Thousand Dragon." (2400/2000)

The spinner picked up speed.....

...and stopped on a skull.

Joey blanched as his Time Wizard and Baby Dragon exploded, draining his life points by half of their total attack points.

Joey- 6300

Crystal- 5550

Crystal giggled mockingly. "Awww....poor Joey..."

Joey could feel the sweat beginning to develop on his face. That little gamble had just backfired on him, and now he was in danger of getting hit directly. ("Unless...") "I guess all I can do now is set this monster face-down. End turn."

Crystal drew and slapped a new monster down. "I summon another Giga Gagigio (2650/1400) in attack mode." Another one of the cybernetic reptiles appeared on his field and roared. "Now attack his face-down monster and leave him wide open for attack!" The creature leaped across the field and slashed the face-down card to pieces with its claws.

"Now attack my other Giga Gagigio!" The other cybernetic monster shot across the field, but right before it got to Joey something blue and slimy leaped into its way and absorbed the blow of its claws.

Crystal's eyes went wide in surprise as the blue form of a Revival Jam appeared on Joey's field. "Since when did a gambler deck run Revival Jams?"

"Since your deck ran Revival Jams," answered Joey enigmatically. When Crystal stared at him in confusion he explained. "You see I set my Copycat (0/0) on the field. When it flips up it copies one monster on your field in every way possible. So I had it copy the effect and stats of your Revival Jam. Now I have an unbeatable defense too." He threw Yugi a thumbs-up and then brought his attention back to the field.

Crystal stared at her Revival Jam like it had just betrayed her somehow. Then she looked at her hand and saw no way to get past the copied Revival Jam. ("I'm stuck.") "End turn."

Joey drew and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I may be protected but I still don't have a way past your monsters. All I can do is set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Crystal drew and sighed. "I'll set one monster and end my turn."

Joey drew. "End turn."

Crystal drew and a smile lit up her features. "Now I can finally get past your Revival Jam copy. First let me show you the lethal power of my Catapult Turtle! By using its special ability I get to sacrifice my monsters and blast your life points with my creatures." One by one her monsters climbed onto the catapult and were launched. Each one hit Joey in a spray of holographic water and smoke.

Joey- 1875

Crystal- 5550

As soon as the barrage was finished, Joey's head broke the surface of the digital water. He came to his feet unsteadily and nearly dropped his cards. The damage from being hit by all of those monsters was now wearing away all of his strength. ("I just...gotta...hang on....")

Crystal slid her Catapult Turtle into the graveyard and slapped down a new monster in its place. "I will finish this duel right now! I summon Levia Dragon Daedalus (2800/1600) in attack mode." From right in front of her feet the head of a gigantic sea serpent broke the water surface and snarled down at Joey, showing off its teeth.

Joey already had his hand heading for one of his face-down cards, but before he could hit the button on his duel disk Crystal beat him to the punch. "Now I trigger the special effect of Daedalus! By sacrificing my Legendary Ocean magic card I can destroy all cards on the field except for my Dragon!" The sea serpent's head splashed underwater and then the waters around the ring exploded outwards and upwards, instantly washing away everyone's cards. All that was left on the field now was the snarling Levia Dragon.

Joey held his head down tiredly. He wasn't able to move fast enough to trigger his trap card before Crystal used her dragon's effect. ("Sorry Yug...I blew it...") He knew if he didn't surrender now the razor-sharp teeth of Crystal's dragon would rip him apart. He placed his hand on top of his deck and sighed. "I give in......"

Crystal nodded and the holographic projectors shut off. When the ring lowered to ground level walked off the field, followed shortly after by a thoroughly exhausted Joey.

Kaiba snorted at the blond-haired member of his team angrily. "Thanks to you now I'm going to have to pick up the slack in the next duel and get us a victory."

Joey glanced over at Kaiba with half-open eyes and murmured, "Just shut it will ya?" Then he slumped against the wall to take a nap. Getting pummeled by monsters took alot out of you.

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For the tenth time Yami had merged with Daniel's mind to repair the damage, but once again he had made no progress at all. ("He just won't listen to me! Every time that I try and talk him out of it, he just brushes me off!")

Rikuo had taken another nap on top of a couch.

Yami sighed and went back to the chair he had used before. He sat down and crossed his legs once more. He was going to have to meditate once more to regain his energy before he could try and help Daniel again. He looked once more at the sleeping wolf demon and mumbled, "I bet you are just too afraid to try and help him."

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_Daniel was running..._

_Behind him was an army of demons, all intent on torturing him until he died, which would never happen in this accursed place..._

_They were gaining and in this flaming wasteland there was nowhere to hide..._

_He tripped and fell..._

_The demons dove in for the kill..._

_Daniel braced himself for the wave of claws and teeth that would tear his skin from his bones, yet leave him alive to feel the pain..._

_It never came though. The sounds of a wolf's howl echoed across the wasteland and all of the demons froze in fear. _

_Standing between Daniel and the army of demons was a single creature. It resembled a wolf, if wolves could be the sizes of houses. Its raven black fur with red highlights gave it the ability to almost blend in with the red and black flames that burned around it. It gave another echoing howl that sent the front of the demon horde running in fear. _

_Daniel stared at the creature. Something about it seemed so very familiar..._

_It glanced back at his with one glowing golden-amber eye and growled out, "Watch idiot...watch what you could do if you ever got around to learning about your heritage..."_

_Daniel's eyes widened at that... ("My heritage...Rikuo?")_

_Like a scythe through a wheat field Rikuo charged, his teeth and claws slashing through dozens of the mental demons with each blow. Within minutes the massacre was over, and it was just the wolf demon and his counterpart that stood on the hellish landscape._

_Daniel slowly stood and stared at the blood-soaked demon before him. "Is that really you Rikuo?"_

_The wolf snorted and tilted its head away from its counterpart haughtily. "Of course it is me idiot. How many other wolf demons live inside this cavern that you call a skull?"_

_Daniel frowned at his darker half's continuing arrogance, but considering that Rikuo had just saved him he wasn't going to chastise him for it. "You said something about my heritage..." A short growl from Rikuo stopped him short._

"_Don't even think about trying to get me to spill the beans about it. You're not ready for an explanation yet." The wolf seemed enraged about the mere thought of telling Daniel anything about what he had said before._

"_But..." Another growl cut him off._

"_IF you ask me again then I promise I will bite your arm off." The look in those golden-amber eyes said that he wasn't joking._

_Daniel sighed. "Fine. Can you at least tell me how to get out of here?"_

_Rikuo turned and padded off, shaking his head. "It's like a dream stupid. Now wake up..."_

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Daniel's eyes snapped open and he found himself standing in a stone room that looked like it had just been hit by a tornado. Sitting in a meditative position on an armchair in a corner of the room was Yami, eyes closed and deep in concentration. In the middle of the room stood Rikuo, his arms crossed and looking like he was asleep on his feet. Daniel looked around at the room and sighed. ("Looks like I've got a mess to clean up.")

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Giovan looked down at the four remaining duelists. "So who is going to duel whom next?"

Kaiba, after throwing a glare at the sleeping Joey, walked onto the dueling ring and clicked his duel disk into place. "I suppose I'll play the next duel. I need a warm-up before I take on that pitiful excuse of a leader that Team Topdeck has in the next round."

Siegfried stepped aside while Devan walked onto the dueling ring, his duel disk clicking into place.

The two duelists stared each other down, Kaiba's cold glare being matched by Devan's burning one. It was almost like the very air around them was twisting as their opposite attitudes clashed.

Finally the silence was broken by Devan. "You're the famous Seto Kaiba huh? The owner of all three of the mightiest dragons in all of Duel Monsters?"

"That's right. What's it to you?" Kaiba's expression and tone stayed the same. Each possessed the same icy coldness as his glare.

Devan reached to his side and pulled out a small stack of cards. He popped his deck free and started to exchange cards between the stack and his deck. "How about we make this a duel of dragons? None of your cowardly viruses to clog up the duel?" He finished making the changes to his deck and then clicked it back into his duel disk.

Kaiba pondered the idea for a few moments and then extracted a stack of cards from a belt pocket at his hip. "I accept. I'll show you that I am the master of dragons." He made some changes to his deck and then after a quick once-over, he slid his deck back into his duel disk.

Giovan sneered from up in his chair. "Then let's make this the feature match then. The winner of this duel takes all?"

Much to the chagrin of Siegfried and Yugi, Devan and Kaiba both nodded their agreement to this.

Giovan threw his arm up and then down. "The final duel of the semi-finals! Seto Kaiba vs. Devan Tenaka! Let the duel of dragons begin!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Duel of Dragons

Author's notes: Alright, to all the Joey fans in the audience, please don't hate me for having Joey lose his duel like that. I promise that it will be made up to you. Please read and review!

Any questions you may have about the storyline I am more than willing to answer. Just put the question in your review and post it, and I will answer it in the next Author's notes.


	37. Kaiba vs Devan The Duel of Dragons

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 37: Kaiba vs. Devan; The duel of dragons

_Giovan threw his arm up and then down. "The final duel of the semi-finals! Seto Kaiba vs. Devan Tenaka! Let the duel of dragons begin!"_

Kaiba drew his five card starting hand and then his sixth card. "Since you made the declaration for this to be a dragon duel, I'll take the liberty of going first."

Devan removed his sunglasses, his crimson eyes glimmering in the torch light. "Go right ahead. I can beat you either way."

Kaiba snorted and slapped a monster face-down on his duel disk. "All I've heard from you is talk. Let's see you back up your claims. I set two cards face-down, one monster face-down, and end my turn."

Devan drew and placed a monster onto his field. "You want action Kaiba? That's fine by me! I summon Komouri Dragon (1500/1200) in attack mode." A purple and black scaled dragon appeared on Devan's field. "Now torch his face-down card! Dragon flame attack!" The Koumori dragon sprayed a burst of flame across the field, instantly consuming Kaiba's face-down monster.

Kaiba popped his deck out of his duel disk and looked it over. "You've attacked my Masked Dragon. (1400/1100) When it is destroyed in battle I may search my deck for one dragon sub-type monster with 1500 or less attack and special summon it to the field. So I'll summon Twin-headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in defense mode!" A double-headed purple and yellow dragon appeared on Kaiba's field in a crouching position.

Devan slid one card into his duel disk. "I bet you think that you are pretty clever huh?"

Kaiba lifted his shoulders in a little shrug. "I think it's fairly obvious that I am."

Devan bristled a little at his opponent's arrogance, but he kept his temper in check. He knew all too well what Siegfried would do if he lost his temper. "End turn."

Kaiba drew. "Alright then Tenaka, let's see just how much of a dragon duelist you consider yourself to be. I summon Spirit Ryu (1000/1000) in attack mode." A deep blue phantasmal dragon appeared on Kaiba's field.

"Do you happen to know what Spirit Ryu does?" Kaiba asked mockingly.

Devan paled. "You may discard dragon cards from your hand to increase its attack power by 1000 per card. The bonus only lasts until the end of the turn but..."

Kaiba finished for him. "...it won't matter because a true dragon duelist keeps plenty of dragon monsters in his hand. Now attack his Komouri Dragon Spirit Ryu! Spirit Sonic!" The dragon opened its jaws and unleashed an unearthly scream that sent rippling waves of energy towards Devan's field. "As an added little boost I'll be discarding three dragon monster cards from my hand, raising Spirit Ryu's attack points by 3000 until the end of the turn." The waves multiplied until they seemed to engulf the entire field. (4000/1000)

Devan threw his arms up in front of his as the waves of sonic energy tore through his Kormouri dragon, the excess energy slammed into his and throwing him back a few feet. When the ringing in his ears stopped he could hear Kaiba's laughter.

Kaiba- 8000

Devan- 5500

"I'm sorry. Did that catch you by surprise? Maybe I should have held back a bit?" Kaiba flipped up one of his face-down cards. "And just so that you don't get your hopes up too high, I reveal my Spirit Rejuvenation magic card. At the end of this turn I will draw one card from my deck for every dragon monster that I have either discarded or tributed. Since I have discarded three dragons..." He stopped there. He drew his three cards and nodded to Devan teasingly. "Make your move master of dragons."

Devan slowly moved his hand towards his deck, afraid that if he didn't make this next move count, that he was going to be made a laughing stock of. ("I won't let that happen...I will win this and take the title of the master of dragons from you Kaiba.") He drew...

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Yami opened his eyes to find Daniel hanging up the last poster that Rikuo had knocked down earlier. He blinked in surprise and slowly slid out of his meditative position. "Umm...excuse me?"

Daniel turned and smiled to his guest. "Done meditating Yami?"

Yami nodded. "How is it that you're alright now? Right before I went into my meditation you were still trapped in that mental hell that Giovan had put within your mind. Did you manage to overcome it yourself?"

Daniel shook his head and pointed at the still sleeping form of Rikuo. "Nope. He helped me."

Yami looked over at the wolf demon and blinked in surprise. "He did hmm?"

Rikuo slid out of his seat, awake instantly. "I didn't do it for him pharaoh. I did it because you dared to say that I was too afraid to. No one dares to say that I am afraid of anything."

Daniel rolled his eyes and walked over the door in his soul room that led back into his body. "Whatever you say, Mr. Big bad wolf demon." He tugged the handle and right before he stepped through he said, "And thank you for your help Rikuo."

As he started to feel himself being teleported back to his body, he could have sworn he had heard Rikuo yell, "Keh!"

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Yami watched Daniel go and then brought his attention back to the task at hand. "So, what are we going to do with you now Rikuo?"

Rikuo snorted and lifted his head haughtily. "What the hell does that mean? You think you can control me Yami?"

Yami smiled and shook his head. "That's not what I meant at all. I was talking about which one of us should get to deal with Garlin, when the time comes to face off against him."

Rikuo rolled his eyes, like the answer was obvious. "Me of course. I've got history with him and by the time I am done there won't be anything left for you to punish. So you may as well just kick back and watch the show."

Yami frowned and shook his head. "I don't think it would be wise for you to go against him alone. He is far too powerful."

"And you think you could do any better!?" Rikuo snarled, baring his fangs at the pharaoh.

Yami shook his head once more. "No I don't. We will need to combine our strength to win against him. I suggest we work towards reinforcing each other's efforts. If we pool our resources I am sure that we can win against him."

Rikuo wanted to argue against that logic, but he knew the truth about his current strength level. Even if he didn't want to admit it, he was nowhere near as powerful as he was back in the ancient days, and Sestros had apparently not lost any of his power over his time being dead.

That left the ex-general in a very large hole with no way to climb out. Faced with no other choice, he was going to have to work with these humans if he wanted to kill his hated enemy. "Very well. We'll have a temporary alliance. At least until Sestros is dead. When the time comes for the real battle though, don't get in my way."

Yami nodded gravely. "I could say the same to you."

Rikuo smirked back. "But would you though? I'm your best shot at beating him in the physical realm."

Yami rolled his eyes. "We'll be defeating him on the dueling field, not trying to kill him."

Rikuo's reply was deathly serious. "When you are dealing with Sestros, those two things are one and the same."

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Daniel opened his eyes just in time to get a bear hug from his little sister. Rebecca squeezed him so tightly that for a moment he could swear that his ribs were going to cave in on themselves. Finally relief came as she released her hold on him.

"Are you alright Daniel?" Rebecca asked.

"Oh I was fine until you decided to compress my chest inwards." Daniel nursed his ribs with a hand and looked out upon the dueling field.

The instant he saw Seto Kaiba his mood darkened severely. "I see that a certain pompous duelist has made it to the semi-finals?" He wasn't surprised. ("When you and I meet on the dueling field Kaiba, I'm going to destroy you. You had better not lose and get knocked out of the tournament before then.")

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Devan slapped down a new monster in defense. "I set this monster face-down and end my turn."

Kaiba drew and shook his head. "I was hoping for you to at least prove a threat to me. I guess I was wrong to think that though. You're not even worthy of my time."

Devan clenched his fists, and grinded his teeth together. For a moment he looked like he was going to attack Kaiba, but then he calmed himself. He knew that Kaiba was just trying to get to him. He wouldn't let him though.

Kaiba slid his Spirit Ryu and Twin-headed Behemoth into his graveyard. "Now I sacrifice my two monsters to summon my invincible Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" (3000/2500) Kaiba's two monsters exploded into bits and then on his field appeared the massive white scaled dragon that was his most powerful monster. It roared down at Devan.

Devan took a step back, though he managed to keep his expression unchanged. "I'm not impressed. It has less attack power than your Spirit Ryu did before."

Kaiba slid a card into his duel disk. "Just for that I'm going to have to embarrass you a little. I play the magic card Nobleman of Crossout, which will remove your face-down monster from play." A silver-armored knight appeared on Kaiba's field and leapt the expanse, slashing Devan's face-down monster into pieces.

Devan seemed un-fazed. "I could care less really. If you attack you will regret it."

Kaiba pointed at Devan. "I'm not falling for your bluff! Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack with your Burst Stream!" The dragon charged up a lump of energy between its jaws and released it in one explosive beam.

Devan flipped up his face-down card. "I warned you Kaiba. I trigger the trap card Sakuretsu Armor, which will destroy your monster and leave me safe." A suit of steel armor appeared on Devan's field. It absorbed the energy from the dragon's attack and then shot across the field to slam into the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba's monster gave out one final screech of pain before it exploded.

Kaiba growled low in his throat. "I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Devan drew and shook his head condescendingly. "Oh how the mighty have fallen huh Seto? Your favorite dragon is now gone and you are wide open to my direct attack.

Kaiba growled even lower but didn't reply. He wasn't going to give Devan the pleasure of seeing him angry.

Devan slapped a monster down. "Let's end this. I summon Luster Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode!" A sapphire armored dragon appeared on Devan's field. "Now attack!"

Kaiba flipped one of his three face-down cards. "I reveal the trap card Dragon's Heart! This card allows me to special summon any number of dragons that have the same name as one that I have lost last turn."

Devan's eyes went wide. "NO! That means..."

Kaiba smirked as his other two Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared on his field. "That's right. Now you're the one in trouble. Burst Stream!" One of his two dragon's charged up its energy attack and in one flash of light Devan's Luster Dragon was gone.

Kaiba- 8000

Devan- 4400

Kaiba's laughter echoed across the field. "I advise you to give up now. Unless you want to see what it is like to get hit by two Burst Streams, one after the other."

Devan glared and slid two cards into his disk. "I set these two cards and end my turn!"

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Daniel frowned as he though about just how effective Kaiba's strategy is. ("Hey Rikuo, are you watching this?")

_("Those dragons aren't so tough.")_

("I want to agree with you, but I don't like lying.")

_("You're telling me you are afraid of that guy?")_

Daniel didn't want to admit it, but he was a little afraid of Seto Kaiba. ("He is the second best duelist in all of Duel Monsters.")

_("Feh! Just when I thought you had at least a little bit of honor left, you go and surprise me by turning spineless again.")_

Daniel's frown deepened but he didn't reply.

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Kaiba drew and in a rather uncharacteristic move for him, he smiled. It was the kind of smile that some people could say was warm.

For Devan, it was like watching someone sign your death warrant.

Kaiba slid his newest card into his duel disk. "Say good-bye to whatever pathetic defense you may have had! I play Heavy Storm!" A tornado picked up in the center of the ring and all of Kaiba's and Devan's face-down cards were sucked into it and destroyed.

Devan looked at his hand and sighed. He knew it was over. He wasn't going to beg for surrender though. He was ready to face whatever Kaiba threw at him.

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Giovan grinned from his seat. ("It's always fun to watch someone's hopes be crushed against the rocks. I see that Seto Kaiba and I share some hobbies.") His eyes started to glow a dark red. ("Though I doubt he would approve of some of my other hobbies. Which reminds me...")

He looked across the dueling ring to the main floor, his eyes glaring upon the pitiful human who had dared to disobey him. ("Daniel Pilkington...I though by taking control of you I could get rid of Rikuo Amero....in the end it didn't work though. So this time I am going to go after the source.") He barely registered the fact that Seto Kaiba had activated Monster Reborn to revive his third Blue-Eyes.

Even as Kaiba fused all three of them into the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800) to strike the final blow against Devan, Giovan's eyes never left Daniel.

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Neutron Blast Attack!" In one thunderous explosion Devan was knocked into unconsciousness. It would be Team Domino and Team Topdeck in the finals of the tournament.

Giovan didn't really care. All he could think about was his revenge. He casually announced the times for the finals tomorrow, and bid all of his remaining guests a good evening.

("Rikuo...prepare to watch as your last chance at redemption is destroyed...") He stood up in his seat and walked off, already making plans for this evening's events. ("Tonight is the night you truly feel despair, you miserable flea-bitten mutt of a demon.")

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Ryo vs. Rikuo; The final battle of the demon generals

Author's Notes: Alright, sorry to everyone if I kind of got your hopes up with this duel. I know it was a little disappointing, but I noticed that I have been kind of lagging in my typing. I needed to get the attention back on the main conflict, which is Team Topdeck, Team Domino and Giovan Garlin.

Read and review please. I'm going to go write the next chapter.


	38. Ryu vs Rikuo The final battle of the de...

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 38: Ryu vs. Rikuo; The last battle of the demon generals

Rikuo sighed as he listened to Daniel snore. It was going to be a boring evening for him out in the pitch blackness of Daniel's frontal brain. ("I don't even have a freaking magazine to read in here.")

That's when he felt it. It was like a beacon to his senses. Someone or something was trying to contact him through one of the oldest ways possible. A way that only demons of ancient royalty would know.

Rikuo doubted that it was Sestros. If the bastard had wanted Rikuo's attention he would have gotten it in a different way than this. ("Probably with a bomb or something.")

("There's only one other being I can think of off the top of my head that would try and contact me this way.") If it was who Rikuo thought it was, then he was glad he had all evening to talk.

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Ryu felt the wind whip through his golden hair as he looked out over the cliff edge.

Even since he had lost in his duel to Rikuo he had gone into a state of depression. He had been unable to defeat the man responsible for his family's death. Surprisingly master Garlin didn't kill him. Instead he was told that he would get another chance eventually. That uncharacteristic act of kindness didn't make him feel any better though. He became nothing more than a broken shell of a demon. He had nothing left to work towards.

Then his master had come to him with a proposition....

He felt the wind behind him stir and knew instantly who it was. "Good to see you again, murderer."

Rikuo frowned but didn't say anything to argue that point. In his mind it didn't matter who had done the deed of killing Jourgen's family. Rikuo had taken the responsibility upon himself, and until he got the dragon demon's forgiveness, then he could not regain his honor. "Jourgen...."

Ryu snapped his head around. "I told you that my name is Ryu now! I cannot regain my old name until I avenge my lost family! I cannot return to my glory until you are dead and your bones are grinded into dust!" The earth around him started to crack from the sheer force of his anger.

It all came flowing back to him now. The pain he had felt when he had escaped from Sestro's prison and found out that his family was dead. He could remember all too clearly all of the things he had seen upon his return to the ruins of his home. His son's head had been placed upon the doorway of his old residence. His wife....his daughters....all taken as slaves by Sestro's army of barbarians. He had never found them. He didn't even know how to find them, if they were still alive. "And it was all because of you!!!! Because you didn't do what you were supposed to do! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD KEEP THEM SAFE!!!"

Rikuo, his hair whipping in the sudden wind that had sprung up around Ryu, could only imagine what was going through the other demon's head right now. "Listen to me..."

Ryu lifted his arm and revealed his duel disk, already in place. "NO MORE! IT ENDS HERE!"

Rikuo looked down at the duel disk on his arm and wished now, more than ever before, that he hadn't brought it with him. ("I have no choice.") "You're right about one thing Ryu!" His duel disk clicked into place. He knew that this was fate. To gain the redemption of his honor, he would have to defeat Ryu again. "It ends here."

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Giovan watched the unfolding events from his office, tapping his fingers together in anticipation. "I love how stupid Jourgen was. To think he blames Rikuo and King Sestros for all of his woes. And yet he is working for the same king he hates so much." If there was one thing that Giovan Garlin loved above all things, other than torture of course, it was a good irony.

"Now let the games begin."

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Ryu seemed impossibly calm now, considering how moments before he had been on the verge of killing Rikuo. "Prepare yourself."

Rikuo had trouble feeling rage at an opponent like this. This was a being that had lost his family because of a mistake that Rikuo had made. ("And the worst part of it all is that he works for the very man who personally executed each and every member of the very family he seeks revenge for.")

Ryu drew his cards and placed a monster onto his duel disk. "I set this monster in defense mode. End turn." He brought his silver eyes up to stare right into Rikuo's golden-amber orbs. Those silver eyes were no longer the eyes of an enraged father and husband. They were the eyes of a general leading his army into one final battle.

Rikuo drew. Before he could play anything though he felt a presence awaken in the back of his mind. A voice in his head murmured tiredly, _("Damn it Rikuo, the finals are tomorrow. Why are you making such a racket so early in the morning?")_

("Go back to sleep idiot. This does not concern you.")

There was silence for a long moment, and then Daniel's voice came in much clearer now. _("Hey, are you dueling using my deck!?")_

("Of course. So?")

_("You do know that Rebecca took some cards out of the deck, right?")_

Rikuo felt his blood run cold. He hadn't accounted for anyone to touch Daniel's deck while the idiot had been gone. ("Do you know what cards?")

The silence on the other end was unnerving to say the least. Finally Daniel replied. _("Jinzo, Mirror Force, Replay, Blowback Dragon...")_

Rikuo wasn't sure whether he wanted to rip out his hair in frustration or go into his other half's soul room and smack him around for knowing about those cards being gone, but not getting them back immediately. ("Enough! I'm sorry I asked you! It's too late now though.") He looked at his hand and sighed in disappointment. ("These replacements she put in are pathetic. What did she expect them to do in a real duel?")

_("She thought I was dead. Could you blame her for wanting to make sure that Team Topdeck won the tournament?")_

("I can and I will, right after we win this...I hope.") He slapped down a monster. "I summon Nightmare Machine (800/2000) in defense mode." A jet-black machine that looked something like a demonic snack food dispenser appeared on his field. "End turn."

Ryu drew and with that continuingly impossible calm he slid his monster into his graveyard. "I sacrifice my creature to summon my physical avatar, Dragon Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode." A humanoid dragon in worn samurai armor appeared on his field and hefted an ornate spear, growling at Rikuo.

Ryu lifted his hand and pointed at Rikuo's Nightmare Machine. "Now die." The dragon demon launched across the field and impaled the machine with its spear, instantly annihilating it. "End turn."

Rikuo drew and looked disgusted at the card he had drawn. ("Why would your sister put Kuriboh in this deck!")

Daniel did the mental version of rolling his eyes. _("Look your hand over.")_

Rikuo frowned when he saw the combo. ("I hate playing defensively.")

_("Maybe so, but any defense is better than no defense at all. So play the combo before he does something to interfere with us.")_

Rikuo mentally snarled at his other half. ("Don't order me around human!") "I summon Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode." A little brown furball with green arms and hand appeared on his field and squeaked happily.

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Kuriboh?"

Rikuo slid a card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Multiply, which will create five Kuriboh from one." The little furball shivered and then split apart into five copies of itself.

Ryu frowned a little. "What is this ridiculous play? I will kill all of your defenders with ease."

Rikuo slid another card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Kuriboh Swarm. This will create an endless wall of Kuriboh, meaning that while I may not be able to summon any monsters, I will be untouchable from attacks." The five Kuriboh became ten. The ten became twenty. The twenty became forty. This process continued until Rikuo was surrounded by hundreds of the little creatures.

Ryu had gone from confused to angry. "This is idiotic! Am I supposed to be scared of this? An army of weaklings?"

Rikuo smiled and slid a card from his hand into his disk. "Now I set this card face-down. If you think that my defense is so idiotic, then try to get past it. End turn."

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Giovan took another sip of his Chardonnay, watching this duel with intense interest. ("So Rikuo is stuck relying on the Kuriboh Swarm defense strategy?") He scratched at his chin and wondered if the wolf demon could pull off a win with some of his best cards missing from his deck.

As for how he knew that Daniel's deck was missing any cards at all? As his motto is and always will be, 'knowledge is a good thing.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ryu drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I'm sure you remember what the magic card Lord's Ascension does right?"

Rikuo growled from low in his throat, but he nodded. "It allows you to take one monster with Lord in its title and transform it into a new monster."

Ryu nodded, while his Dragon Demon Lord began to transform. "That is correct. I will now transform my monster into its true form." The dragon demon's armor become illustrious and gold and it roared into the heavens, lifting its new golden spear up. "Pay your respects to the mighty Grand Dragon General!" (3000/2500)

Rikuo rolled his eyes at the ridiculous light show that accompanied the monster's arrival. "I've beaten your monster before and I will beat it now."

Ryu shook his head. "No you won't. I have the perfect way to annihilate you this time." He slid a card into his duel disk. "For now though, I must simply set this card face-down and end my turn."

Rikuo drew. "I must pay 1000 life points as per the effect of Kuriboh Swarm."

Rikuo- 7000

Ryu- 8000

The wolf demon looked at his new card and raised an eyebrow at it. ("This would have been useful a turn ago. Now though....")

_("Just save it for later then...")_

This was one of the rare occasions Rikuo agreed with his human side. ("True. You never know when an effect such as this one may come in handy.") "End turn."

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Right now Giovan considered calling in an assassination team against whoever had made the camera system on The Asylum. He was able to see Rikuo's reaction whatever card he had drawn, but the torture king had no idea what that card might be.

And if there was one thing Giovan Garlin hated to be, it was surprised...

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Ryu drew and set a monster face-down on his disk, next to his Grand Dragon General. "I end my turn."

Rikuo drew and sighed in resignation. "Once again I must pay 1000 life points to keep Kuriboh Swarm in effect."

Rikuo- 6000

Ryu- 8000

_("Why not just drop the Kuriboh Swarm effect and use the face-down card?")_

("Because I still have no idea whether or not it will work against Ryu. We would also be left wide open to attack after we used that combo.") Rikuo tightened his mouth into a frown. "Once again I must end my turn without playing anything."

Ryu drew. "I set another monster and end my turn."

Rikuo drew and narrowed his eyes. ("So...that is why that other card is in our deck.")

_("You mean my deck.")_

("Shut up ningen.") He tapped a button on his duel disk. "Once again I pay 1000 life points to keep Kuriboh Swarm in effect."

Rikuo- 5000

Ryu- 8000

Rikuo slid a new card into his duel disk. "Now it's time to stop all of these annoying life point payments. I play the continuous magic card Spell Economics, which means that I no longer have to pay for the effects of magic cards. Now I can keep Kuriboh Swarm in effect for as long as I need to." The ex-general knew that this didn't change the fact that he was still on the defensive and he still was unable to summon any monsters, but at least he wasn't racing against the clock anymore. "End turn."

Ryu drew and couldn't help himself. For the first time in millennia he smiled at his approaching victory. "Prepare yourself for the ultimate dragon. A beast with the potential to become even more powerful than the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

Rikuo snorted. "Do you really think that I am impressed by a high attack total? Unless said monster can kill me in one hit, then I really don't care how powerful it is."

Ryu's feral smile widened. "Oh but it can kill you in one hit. By the time I am done my monster will have infinite attack points."

Rikuo crossed his arms across his chest. "That's quite an exaggeration..."

Ryu took the two monsters off of the top of his disk and slid them into the graveyard. "Rikuo Amero...say hello to the pinnacle of my people. The very crest of my family brought to life. The creature that shall annihilate you and put my family to rest after all of these millennia." The air above them shimmered with a golden light that came from somewhere above the dueling field.

Rikuo placed his hands over his eyes to shield them from the bright light. It was nearly burning in its intensity.

Through it all Ryu did not close his eyes in the slightest. He kept them wide open and laughed as a dragon came to a soft landing on the ground in front of him. The creature let out one melodic roar and then the lights around it dimmed enough for Rikuo to see it.

It stood about 40' tall, with a wingspan twice as long. It was plated in golden armoring, making it and the Grand Dragon General look almost like they were meant to be together on the field.

The beast let out one hiss that sounded like a mix of a snake's hiss and crystals tingling together. It looked down upon the wolf demon with rage very evident in its quicksilver colored eyes.

Rikuo felt like he had suddenly been thrown back into the feudal era. ("I've...I've...seen this beast before...")

_("You have? What does it do!?")_

As memories flooded his thoughts, Rikuo shivered involuntarily. ("It is an angel. An angel of death that has slain thousands of soldiers in one attack.")

Ryu smiled once more. "From the terrified look upon your face you remember it, don't you? Though its name has been lost in the sands of time, I for one have decided to rename it appropriately." The dragon hissed again, the sound harmonious to the ears of anyone that could hear it. "It's name is Grand Emperor Dragon-Envoy of Revenge!" (2000/2500)

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The revenge of the Grand General

Author's Notes: Another installment finished, and this one I am quite proud of. Anyhow, I hope you all liked this chapter, because the next part of it should be done fairly soon.

Once again, any questions concerning the storyline will be answered in the next Author's notes if you post them in your review. Even if you don't have any questions though, please read and review anyway. I would appreciate it a lot.


	39. The revenge of the Grand General

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 39: The revenge of the Grand General

_Ryu smiled once more. "From the terrified look upon your face I can assume that you remember it? Though its name has been lost in the sands of time, I for one have decided to rename it appropriately." The dragon hissed again, the sound so very harmonious to the ears of anyone that could hear it. "Its name is Grand Emperor Dragon-Envoy of Revenge!" (2000/2500)_

Rikuo bit back his fear and managed to put on an unimpressed face. "Why should I care what you call it? Its attack points are even lower than your Grand Dragon General's strength. It's not a threat to me."

Ryu went cold and impassive once more. He became the general. "What did I say earlier? Its attack is going to be infinite."

Rikuo snorted and lifted his head haughtily. "You're full of hot air Ryu."

Ryu shrugged. "And you're full of shit Rikuo." He slid a card into his duel disk. "I play the equipment magic card Revival Spear." A crystal spear appeared next to the Grand Dragon General. The golden armored warrior threw its normal spear aside and grabbed the new weapon.

Rikuo watched the move impassively, though inside he was starting to feel the cold grip of fear wrapping around his heart. ("His stance...his eyes...the way he is playing his cards. He has something up his sleeve.")

_("We can beat it, right?")_

("Without some of your best cards in your deck, I'm not so sure if we can. Don't worry though...I'm not giving up yet.") "Come now Ryu, stop beating around the bush and show me this infinite attack dragon you have." He made sure to hide the fear in his voice behind a thick veil of sarcasm.

Ryu looked to his Grand Dragon General. "Show him your power." The monster nodded and tapped the butt of its spear into the ground. The earth next to it churned and the reptilian head of one of Ryu's dragons broke through the surface of the dirt. The dirt-covered dragon shivered in pain and then exploded into dust.

The crystal spear of the Grand Dragon General released a weak green light that invigorated its wielder. The General struck its spear against the ground again and another dragon from Ryu's graveyard appeared, only to explode just like the one before it.

The spear glowed once more and the Grand Dragon General repeated the process of summoning of a dragon, only to destroy it. The spear would glow and then the General would summon another, destroy it, summon another, etc.

While all of this was happening, the attack totals of Ryu's Grand Emperor Dragon went insane, flickering and showing strange symbols as the computers of the duel disk started to malfunction.

Rikuo stared in horror as the holographic screen over the Emperor Dragon's head finally came to a stop. (Infinite/2500)

Ryu smiled at the priceless look of fear that was plastered to Rikuo's normally fearsome features. "I suppose your little wolf brain is working overtime to try and figure out what is going on, so I will explain each of my card's effects in turn for you."

He pointed to his Grand Dragon General. "As you remember from our last duel, each of my turns Grand Dragon General may summon one dragon sub-type monster at random from my graveyard."

Then he pointed at his Grand Emperor Dragon next. "My dragon's special ability is that it permanently gains 500 attack points every time a dragon sub-type monster is summoned to the field."

Finally he pointed at the Revival Spear that the General was holding. "Revival Spear allows whatever monster holding it to re-use its special ability as many times as it wants each turn. All it requires is that for each extra time the ability is used I must sacrifice a monster from my field."

Rikuo already saw the combo. "Every time that you summon back a dragon from the graveyard with your General's effect, your Grand Emperor Dragon gains 500 attack points. Then you sacrifice the summoned dragon to power your spear. Your General repeats his summon effect and your Grand Emperor gains another 500 attack points. You continue this process until..."

"...my Grand Emperor Dragon has infinite attack points. I'm glad your skills haven't dulled at all from being sealed inside the boy's head." Ryu knew he had the upper hand now. He had a monster on his field that would annihilate his opponent in one blast. "Prepare to die Rikuo Amero."

Rikuo snickered, ignoring the cold sweat that was pouring down his brow. "Take a look at my field. I have over ten thousand Kuriboh in defense mode. You will never get past all of them, since your infinite attack dragon can only attack one of them per turn."

Ryu had hoped his opponent would point that fact out. "Do you think I am so dumb that I would waste my time doing this is I if didn't have a way past your defenses?" He didn't wait for Rikuo to answer the question with one of his smart-aleck replies. Ryu took a card from his hand and slid it into his disk. "Now to get rid of your wall of Kuriboh, I activate the magic card Exile of the Wicked!" The thick smell of incense filled the air around both duelists. "You know what that magic card does, correct?"

Rikuo gulped. "It destroys all demon sub-type monsters on the field." All at once Rikuo's ten thousand Kuriboh exploded into digital dust.

Ryo lifted his hand slowly, one claw pointing right at Rikuo. "Good-bye Rikuo Amero. Let it be known that you went down fighting." The Grand Emperor Dragon roared and opened its crystalline jaws. Instantly a lump of golden light appeared between its teeth. The lump grew and grew, until it was like a miniature sun. "Grand Emperor Dragon, destroy him with your all-powerful Solar Stream!" The dragon released the sun of energy in the form of a wave of light that threatened to annihilate Rikuo as it barreled across the field.

Rikuo still refused to let his fear show. He wasn't done yet. "You still need to learn about attacking when your opponents have face-down cards! I reveal the trap card Attack Redirection Armor!" A steel suit of demonic armor appeared and flew over to Ryu's field, where it hovered in front of his Grand Dragon General. "This trap card will change the target of your attack to your own monster!" The wave of light energy swerved left and shot backwards towards Ryu's other monster.

Ryu flipped up his face-down card. "I reveal the trap card Negate Attack!" A swirling vortex sucked up the energy before it ever got close to the Grand Dragon General.

Rikuo snarled loudly, his eyes glowing angrily in the early morning light. ("Damn...I thought we had him.")

_("At least we survived the attack without taking any damage.")_

Ryu smiled at the frustrated look his enemy was giving him. "I see you understand the futility of your situation then? I am ready for any of your pitiful traps Rikuo. I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Rikuo drew and fanned his hand out, sliding the card in between the middle two of his hand. ("Now let's see. We have enough traps to defend us for two more turns.")

_("But defense won't win this duel for us.")_

Rikuo knew it wasn't even worth replying to that statement. He had to win this duel, regardless of the way he accomplished that victory. "I set two cards face-down and one monster in defense mode. End turn."

Ryu drew and sneered. "I have just drawn the perfect magic card for this situation. First I activate the effect of my Grand Dragon General." The Grand Dragon General slammed its spear into the earth and the form of one of Ryu's dragon appeared from it. "Now I will sacrifice the monster to summon Emerald Dragon (2400/1400) in attack mode." A large dragon covered in emerald armoring appeared on Ryu's field.

Rikuo frowned but didn't say anything.

Ryu slid a card into his duel disk. "What's the matter Rikuo? You used to be so very talkative. Do you not like losing?" The Emerald Dragon swept its wings back and then flapped them once, a wave of wind tearing across the ground towards Rikuo's field.

"Well get used to the feeling, because I just played my Wingbeat of Giant Dragon magic card." He pulled his Emerald Dragon card off of his disk and placed it back in his hand. "By returning one level five or higher dragon monster from my field to my hand I may destroy all of the magic and trap cards on the field. That means your two face-down cards, which are most likely traps, are gone."

Right before the wave of wind his Rikuo's cards, he flipped one of them. "In response I activate the trap card Waboku!" A trio of woman in blue shawls appeared on the wolf demon's field, chanted a spell, and then vanished. A blue barrier sprang up across his field. "So while my other trap card is destroyed, the effect of this trap will stay in effect. It will keep me safe from attack this turn." Rikuo slid the two destroyed trap cards into his graveyard slot.

Ryu shrugged off the turn of events like it was nothing at all. "That is nothing more than a minor inconvenience to me Rikuo. That just means I have to wait until next turn to destroy you completely. End turn."

Rikuo drew. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards from my deck." He drew his two and read each of the card's texts in turn. ("Well this is interesting...Why would your sister put such powerful cards into your deck if she had thought you were dead?")

_("Maybe she didn't think we were dead??")_

("No matter. We've got some time now.") He slid one of the two cards into his duel disk. "I play the magic card Nightmare Steel Cage!" All around Ryu's field a giant gunmetal grey cage appeared, locking his field away from Rikuo's. "For the next two turns you will be unable to attack me and I will be unable to attack you. Think of it as a temporary truce."

Ryu looked disgusted by the mere though of having a truce with the murderer of his family. "You wish we on such friendly terms, cur."

Rikuo slid his face-down monster into the graveyard. "Give the theatrics a rest you overgrown iguana. Since we're repeating history, let me bring out a monster you should remember very well from out last duel. I summon Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode."

A wolf demon in samurai armor appeared on Rikuo's field and bowed to his master, before bringing his attention to Ryu's Grand Dragon General. The two monsters exchanged heated glares. "I see that our physical avatars share more than appearance with our ancient selves, wouldn't you agree?"

Ryu growled quietly from within the steel cage.

Rikuo felt his confidence returning, now that immediate threat of Ryu's infinite attack power dragon was removed. "End turn."

Ryu drew and placed a monster in defense on his field. "End turn."

Rikuo drew. ("At the end of Ryu's next turn the Nightmare Steel Cage will be over. Then we will be wide open to attack. Any suggestions Daniel?")

_("You're asking me for help?")_ Daniel's voice had more than just a little surprise in it.

("Of course. I do not understand these cards quite as well as you do apparently. Since you and I share the same body, it would be unfair for you not to have a say in what I do in this duel.")

_("Wow......if it wasn't for the fact that I knew you were an arrogant jerk, I could almost think of this as kindness.")_

("You wish I liked you that much.") Rikuo's tone was as curt as possible.

_("I trust in your judgement Rikuo. There aren't any combos that we have at the moment. Play what you will.")_ Daniel's reply was just as curt.

Rikuo nodded and slid a card into his duel disk. "End turn."

Ryu drew and sniggered. "I set one card face-down and end my turn." The Nightmare Steel Cage screeched in protest as it collapsed, the pieces fading to dust before they ever touched the ground. "Now you have one turn left Rikuo, for I reveal the trap card Final Attack Orders. As long as this continuous trap card remains in play you cannot play monsters in defense mode. I suggest you prepare yourself for the next life."

Rikuo pulled off the top card of his deck. He gave it a passing glance and slid two cards into his duel disk. "I set these two cards face-down and end my turn. Do your worst Ryu."

The dragon demon drew his card and pointed at Rikuo's Wolf Demon Lord. "You heard him Grand Emperor Dragon. Solar Stream!" The golden dragon charged up its attack and unleashed another wave of solar energy that tore across the field towards Rikuo.

Rikuo shook his head and flipped his face-down card up. "Prepare to suffer the consequences of being stupid, my dear friend. I activate Magic Cylinders! This trap will reflect your monster's attack back at your life points, meaning you are about to get hit for infinite points of damage!"

Ryu sneered and flipped up his face-down card. "I'm not the same duelist you played last time, fool. I activate the trap card Dragon's Bead. By discarding one card from my hand I may negate any trap card that targets a Dragon sub-type monster." The two cups that represented the effect of the Magic Cylinders trap card cracked and shattered.

Rikuo felt the sweat pouring down his face. That had been his plan for winning. He had no other traps to negate the attack of the Grand Emperor Dragon. The last thought that crossed his mind before the Solar Steam engulfed his field was that at least Ryu would be able to reclaim his honor. ("I've been defeated.")

The Solar Steam slammed into his field and consumed it in a flash of bright golden light. Yet he felt no pain at all. In fact...

The attack had never hit. The Wolf Demon Lord had absorbed the full blast of the attack. All that was left was a smoldering crater where the monster had been. Yet Rikuo's life points had been untouched. ("How can this be possible?")

Ryu felt the same. "What kind of trickery is this!? Your monster was in attack mode! How could you of not taken any damage from its death!?"

Daniel's voice sighed from within Rikuo's mind. _("And here I thought you were a master strategist.")_

("Explain this now...")

_("Have you forgotten the special ability of your own monster?")_

Rikuo's eyes went wide in surprise. He had forgotten all about the Wolf Demon Lord's second special ability. "So that's it..."

Ryu's hair was lifted up in the air around him as his golden aura began to flare up around him. "I told you to explain this to me! Tell me how this is possible!?"

Rikuo's upper lip lifted into a smug smile. "It's the second power of my Wolf Demon Lord. You see when he is destroyed as a result of battle I take no damage from the overflow, if there is any."

Ryu clenched his fists tightly. "Grand Dragon General! Attack his life points directly with Spear of Dragon Mastery!" The golden dragon demon threw his spear across the field. The crystal weapon slammed into Rikuo's chest and sent him sliding backwards a few feet.

Rikuo- 2000

Ryu- 8000

Ryu trembled in his rage. Seeing the dog get hit by his physical avatar was not what he wanted. ("This murdering scum must feel the purifying touch of my Envoy's Solar Stream. It will happen. Justice shall be served this morning!") "End turn!"

Rikuo looked at his deck expectantly. ("You pulled me out of the frying pan, but are you going to deliver me victory or drop me into the fire?") He drew and his eyes widened in surprise. ("Victory it is then.")

Ryu sneered. "What's the matter? Did your deck not give you some way to defeat my infinite attack loop?"

Rikuo no longer looked worried or afraid. Now he looked like Ryu had remembered him being back in the feudal ages. Those golden-amber eyes gave off nothing less than the ruthless efficiency of a general who had nothing to fear. "Prepare yourself Ryu. I've found a way to defeat your infinite attack loop."

Ryu chuckled, though inside he wanted to break down into sweat. Rikuo's tone had been nothing less than the most serious of tones. The kind of tone one gives to someone who was about to be defeated. "I highly doubt you have a monster in your hand that is capable of matching my creature in attack points."

Rikuo flashed a feral grin, his fangs glistening. "Oh don't worry I don't have a monster in my hand that can match your Grand Emperor's attack points. What I am holding is a combo that will give me a monster with more attack points than your dragon."

Ryu narrowed his eyes. "That is impossible. There is no way to go over infinite in this game."

Rikuo's eyes glimmered back that confidence once more. "As I said, by the time I am done your creature will be destroyed in battle by one of my own." He lifted a claws finger up to point at his opponent's Grand Emperor Dragon. "Get ready to feel the power of my own infinite loop!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Breaking a loop with a loop.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone. Well this is the second part of the final duel between Ryu and Rikuo. I hope all of you are enjoying it so far. I'm sorry if the infinite attack combo that Ryu used was confusing at all.

Please read and review, I always like to hear from you guys about what you think of my story. Thanks in advance.


	40. Breaking a loop with a loop

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 40: Breaking a loop with a loop

_Rikuo's eyes glimmered back that confidence once more. "As I said, by the time I am done your creature will be destroyed in battle by one of my own." He lifted a claws finger up to point at his opponent's Grand Emperor Dragon. "Get ready to feel the power of my own infinite loop!"_

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Giovan lifted his eyebrows slightly in surprise at that declaration. ("How can that stupid mutt expect to defeat a monster with infinite attack points?") The computer system for the duel disks could not understand any number setting past infinite. Therefore it would be impossible to summon a monster stronger than Ryu's Grand Emperor Dragon.

Then it dawned on him. He had figured out what Rikuo was planning on doing. ("So that's what he had drawn earlier.") Giovan frowned in distaste. He was about to watch the Dog of War make another comeback.

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Rikuo slid a card into his duel disk. "First I play Monster Reborn on Wolf Demon Lord!" The demon wolf samurai reappeared on the field.

Ryu rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I think I understand now. You plan on fusing your mutt of a monster with the boy's steel beast to create that monstrosity called the Steel Wolf General. I'm sure it has some kind of special ability that will win the game for you."

Rikuo shook his head. "I'm not a one trick horse Ryu. Just like you have new strategies, so do I." He slid another card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Exchange of Soul. This switches your graveyard with mine until the end of the turn."

Ryu looked down at his graveyard slot expectantly, waiting for something from Rikuo's graveyard to explode or something of the like.

The wolf demon laughed sharply. "You're second-guessing me." He sneered. "You've got the wrong idea about my combo. I just need your graveyard for one reason. Now I play the magic card Brain Control to seize control of your Grand Dragon General." A purple brain appeared on Rikuo's field and released a wave of mental energy. Ryu's golden armored monster shuddered in mental pain, and then it floated over to Rikuo's field, its eyes vacant of all free thought.

Ryu narrowed his eyes. "I'm starting to see what you plan on doing. You switched graveyards with me to so that you could use my infinite summon combo." He chuckled coldly.

"Ah Rikuo, you seem to misunderstand the nature of my combo. Grand Dragon General's infinite summon combo requires that you have something that involves monsters to be summoned for it to be a benefit. Alone the combo will not be of use to you. I assumed you would know that."

Rikuo flipped his remaining face-down card up. "I'd stop assuming anything when it comes to me! Reveal face-down magic card, Stress of Battle!"

Ryu stared in confusion at the face-up card. "Stress of Battle? What does that do?"

Rikuo sneered. "As any general should know, sometimes it is not the strength of the single soldier that makes the difference, but the strength of the army as a whole. You've put all of your eggs into one basket Ryu, and you're about to pay the price. You may have spent all of this time building up a perfect loop to power your dragon, but that same loop is about to be used against you."

Ryu watched in horror as the flipped up Stress of Battle card shimmered and then appeared floating above the head of the Grand Emperor Dragon. "What is the meaning of this!? What are you doing to my dragon!?"

"Just watch and see Ryu." Rikuo looked over at the Grand Dragon General. "Let's get this show started. Infinite summon combo activate!" The golden-armored monster tapped the butt of its spear on the ground. A random dragon from Ryu's graveyard was summoned, only to immediately be sacrificed to the Revival Spear. The Revival Spear glowed and then the Grand Dragon General repeated the effect. The next dragon was sacrificed as the one before it and the Revival Spear went off again.

Ryu watched as the Stress of Battle card released a gray mist that fell over his dragon. As the mist surrounded that crystalline monster, the dragon began to turn gray. Its muscles withered and it looked like it was dying slowly.

The sight of his magnificent beast suffering sent pangs of pain right into the dragon demon's heart. "What...what are you doing to it!? STOP!!!"

Rikuo sneered as the infinite summon combo continued in front of him. "I'm not going to stop until your creature's power is completely gone."

Ryu tugged at the edges of his golden hair, his general's countenance gone. All that was left was a tortured soul who was watching his last hope at revenge wither away to a bag of bones and wrinkled skin. "How? Tell me....."

Rikuo scoffed. "Gods you sicken me when you are like this. Fine, I will humor you and tell you what Stress of Battle does." He took a deep breath. "Stress of Battle is a continuous magic card that hangs over your field when I play it. Its effect is that every time I summon a monster all of the creatures on your field lose 500 attack points permanently. So let's see..."

He tapped a claw to his chin mockingly. "Since you have been so kind as to set up the perfect little infinite summon combo for me, I suppose I should offer you my thanks. Because of you my Stress of Battle card can drain your infinite attack point dragon down to zero attack points."

Ryu looked like he was on the verge of tears. "That card you played...there must be some kind of payment you need to make for it....."

Rikuo nodded sagely. "Oh there is. You see it costs 500 life points per use. But..." He pointed at the continuous magic card floating on his field. "Spell Economics means that I don't have to pay a single life point for this combo to work. So say good-bye to your Grand Emperor Dragon and all of its attack points."

Ryu already felt tears beginning to drip down his face as he watched the monster that represented the pride of his tribe turn into a dusty old skeleton, its golden armoring rusted to the point that it looked dark brown. (0/2500)

Rikuo felt no remorse as he pointed at the dragon. "Now you understand what I meant when I said that one of my monsters would destroy yours in battle. Wolf Demon Lord, attack with Howling Sword!" The samurai demon snapped its greatsword into the air, the weapon wreathed in phantom flame. It slammed its blade into the ground and a shockwave of the flame leapt out to consume the remains of the Grand Emperor Dragon.

Rikuo- 2000

Ryu- 5600

Ryu knew what was next. He knew that Rikuo was about to inflict upon him the ultimate insult.

"Grand Dragon General! Spear of Dragon Mastery!" The golden dragon demon threw its crystal spear across the field. The weapon slammed into Ryu's chest and threw him to his back.

Rikuo- 2000

Ryu- 2600

Rikuo sighed and slid the last card in his hand into the duel disk. "It's over Ryu. I play the magic card Hell Meteor. This magic card will deal you 4000 life points of damage, meaning that this game is over!" Above them both the sky ripped open to reveal a flaming dimension of pain and suffering. In the center of all of the cries of pain and despair was the pulsing ball of black and red flame that made up the Hell Meteor. "Good-bye Ryu. Go Hell Meteor!" The ball of flame pitched forward and slammed down upon the dragon demon. The ball pressed into the ground for a few seconds, and then it exploded, spraying the field with holographic flames.

Rikuo- 2000

Ryu- 0

Ryu slowly picked himself up from the small crater that had formed from the holographic explosion. He walked unsteadily over to Rikuo, hands at his sides and eyes to the ground. His golden hair was hanging in his eyes and masking his face.

Rikuo weighed the possibilities that Ryu might try to attack him, but he decided that it wasn't very likely. Therefore he simply shuffled his deck and slid it back into his duel disk. Then he waited as Ryu stumbled over to him.

The dragon demon lifted his face enough to show that he had been crying. His cheeks were stained with the streaks that could only come from someone crying. "You've won again Rikuo. I cannot defeat you. Even when your most powerful cards are missing, you still find a way to defeat me. I hate you..." He whispered the last part, his head hanging low again. He fished four cards out of the graveyard slot of his duel disk and held them out to Rikuo. "Consider these my final memento to you. The Dragon Demon Lord, Grand Emperor Dragon, Revival Spear, and Lord's Ascension. They should all serve you well when you battle Master Garlin."

Rikuo took the cards gingerly, sliding each one into his pocket. "You put up as good of a battle as ever Jourgen. Don't beat up on yourself. You'll get me next time."

Ryu smiled sadly and walked over to the edge of the cliff, his down-trodden eyes looking out at The Asylum. "No I won't. I'm tired of it all Rikuo. I cannot avenge my family. I am ready to be cast into hell where I belong for failing them."

Rikuo snarled and spun the golden-haired boy around. "Damn it Jourgen listen to me! Do you even realize that I didn't kill your family? Do you even understand who did!?"

Ryu smiled tiredly. "Sestros is dead Rikuo. All that is left is you. You were the only thing that was stopping my spirit from finding peace. Now though, I know the truth..."

Rikuo expected to be berated once more for being the cause of Jourgen's suffering. What he heard instead though...

"You are forgiven Rikuo Amero. I understand now that it was not your fault. I was too selfish to see otherwise."

Just like that, Rikuo Amero had regained his lost honor. "Jourgen...."

Ryu shook his head, and trudged past Rikuo. "We shall never meet again. Farewell."

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The sound of clapping caught the attention of both of their hearing. The two demons turned to watch Giovan Garlin step out of the shadows, a chillingly cold smile upon his face. "Well isn't this just a perfectly cliché moment? The villain finally understands the truth and now he goes off to live a life of peace." His smile turned into a scowl. "Unfortunately it doesn't work that way in my story."

Rikuo snorted and waved his hand dismissively at Giovan. "Why don't you go and let the demons talk Sestros? Monstrosities such as you have no right to be involved in the conversations between people who actually care about their honor."

Giovan sneered. "Rikuo Amero...I am going to enjoy killing you when we meet on the field of battle. I'll make sure the rules for our darkness game are extra painful, just so I can watch my Torture Machines literally rip you apart, piece by deliciously screaming piece."

His dark gaze came to Ryu, who was bowing before him. "As always you are the best servant I could ever have Ryu. As you know I am going to have to kill you now for failing me not once, but twice."

Ryu nodded and walked up to his master stiffly. "I understand. I am ready to leave this life with no regrets. I have been able to bury my past."

Rikuo's eyes widened. ("No....Sestros...even for you...don't...")

Giovan nodded and as an almost casual afterthought added. "Oh, one more thing though Ryu. I have a little information that you may make your passing into the afterlife much easier." He leaned in and whispered into his second in command's ear. "The blood of your wife and children tasted so sweet upon my lips. Their flesh so very delicious and tender. So let it be known that they all died for a good cause. They all died to provide King Kilomet Sestros with a nice four course meal in celebration of his victory over the pathetic king of the dragon demons." He lifted his head back and raised his hand to the staring eyes of Ryu.

The Emissary felt himself trembling in rage. "Sestros...you...you..."

Giovan felt the energy building in his palm. "Die knowing that you failed to kill the man that dined upon the flesh of your daughter and drank the blood of your wife. Go to hell, you honorless dog."

Ryu barely registered the pain as Giovan's power tore through him. All he could understand was that he had been tricked all of this time. He somehow managed to avoid crying out in pain. ("If I am going to die honor-less, then at least let it be known that I did not scream.") With that last, barely consoling thought, Grand General Jourgen felt no more.

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As pieces of the very demon that just forgiven him splattered against his cheek, Rikuo clenched his fists tightly, his fangs bared and his eyes glowing. "No. I won't tolerate this. Even for you Sestros..." His claws began to glow an icy blue color. "...THAT WAS WRONG!" He lunged, claws out to gut the business-suited monster.

Giovan lifted his palm up and in one blast Rikuo was flying backwards, sent into an uncontrollable spin. If it wasn't for his claws digging into the ground the wolf demon would have been sent right off the edge of the cliff. "You should know that it is unwise to attack ones betters Rikuo."

The wolf demon came back to his feet and let out a growl so low that it sounded like a death threat. "I challenge you to a darkness game, right here, right now."

Giovan snorted and turned around to walk back into the shadows. "I'm going to go and sleep right now Rikuo. We can settle this tomorrow at the finals. By the way, if you dare to put either the infinite attack combo or the Hell Meteor in your deck for the finals, then I will personally kill your friends. See you in the morning." And just like that he was gone.

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Rikuo had returned to Daniel's room without any problems. As soon as he was back in the bed he slid back into the confines of his other half's soul room.

The first thing that met his eyes was Daniel, staring a walls-worth of cards that were floating in front of him. "What are you doing?"

Daniel barely acknowledged the demon's presence in the room. "Deck building. He said we couldn't run Ryu's infinite attack combo, so I'm seeing if we can create our own."

Rikuo collapsed on a couch and shook his head. "Don't bother. Today I've learned an important lesson about infinite combos. They just aren't worth running. We had best stick to what we have."

Daniel frowned but nodded. "Fine. Are you going to sleep at all?"

Rikuo's answer was to head out the steel door that led into the darkness that was his side of Daniel's mind.

"Guess I'll take that as a yes." Daniel yawned and the cards in front of him faded away. He curled up on couch and slid into sleep.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Finals begin

Author's Notes: Hello there everybody. That brings an end to the side-story before the finals. Now we can move on to the main event. On that note, if there are any particular match-ups between the six duelists that you want to see, let me know in your review.

To the Chazman: The whole Amy's brother thing is something of a loose end that I left behind on purpose. I use stuff that like as lifelines when I hit writer's block, so that way I backtrack and find a way around the block. Thanks for noticing that though.


	41. The Finals Begin

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Chapter 41: The Finals Begin

Deondre scratched the back of his head tiredly as the alarm clock in his room went off. He had hit the snooze button at least five times already. This time he just threw the device out of the window, his logic being that Giovan was rich enough to get a new one. He slid out of bed and went to get dressed. He needed to go and get Rebecca. They had to discuss their game plan for today in the finals.

After he had finished getting showered and dressed, he walked the short distance to Rebecca's room and knocked on the door. "Hey Rebecca! Open up!"

The door clicked open and Daniel grinned at Deondre. "Hey there buddy."

Deondre stared at his supposedly dead friend for a few seconds, and then promptly passed out.

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Daniel sighed as he went over the huge stacks of cards on the desk in front of him. ("Tell me why we are doing this again Rikuo?")

_("Because your original deck couldn't beat Sestros. This time we will make a deck that I can be proud to run.")_

Daniel rolled his eyes and placed another card from the piles into the messy stack that sat in front of him. ("Why don't you make it then?")

_("I don't think that your friends quite like me.")_

Daniel looked over at Deondre and CJ, who were both going through each others cards to see if there was anything they needed for their decks. ("That's true. They didn't react very well to seeing me back from the dead. I don't think they'd feel very comfy in the same room as you. You are a demon after all.")

_("Less talking, more building.")_

Daniel sighed and got back to work.

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At about noon the two teams met in the dueling arena.

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Team Domino was the first to arrive. Yugi, as always, was wearing his normal leather clothing, belts and all. He was never one to dress up for an occasion anyways.

Kaiba was wearing his white overcoat that he had used during the Battle City tournament. While he didn't believe in magic and the like, it was never a bad idea to wear a good luck charm. Other than that he looked the same as he always tended to.

Joey had put on a pair of blue jeans and a dark blue jeans jacket. He had his blond hair styled as it always was, though he was taking advantage of Giovan's accommodations with his new pair of tennis shoes that he had found in the closet of his room.

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Team Topdeck arrived shortly after them. Daniel, as per his deal with his sister, was still a billboard for her fashion design. He still wore the black and silver leather bodysuit with black leather jacket that she had made for him. Rebecca had made one little adjustment though. On the back of the jacket she had embroidered the design of a howling wolf in silver upon the black surface. While Daniel felt indifferent about it, Rikuo threatened to kill him if he didn't wear that jacket while he dueled.

Deondre was wearing his customary jersey, though he had made a slight adaptation to the design. He had added a pair of black ray ban sunglasses and he had replaced his do rag with a silver and black cap, saying that if Daniel had to wear so much of the two colors, that they may as well make it the team's new colors.

CJ was wearing a black and silver jersey with his normal black cap. Like Yugi, he really didn't like to dress for any special occasion.

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Up on the balcony Giovan watched the two teams with real interest sparkling in his eyes. ("This is where the dueling becomes what it was meant to be. This is where we see who is the best of the best in the world of Duel Monsters.") He took a deep breath and then began.

"Welcome duelists to the finals of the Shadow Corporation Tournament. Each of you have proven that you are the best in the world when it comes to dueling, but now it is time to narrow you down even more. We will be using the COC system to determine who will duel who in the finals, and I want each of you to give your very best. After all," he motioned to the cameras set up all around the dueling ring. "This is being televised to the world. Now let's get started."

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Daniel and Yugi stepped forward, each of them holding a COC in their palms. They exchanged smiles, knowing that despite which one of them won this tournament, they would both still work together to take down Giovan. The moment of smiling passed quickly, and the two threw their COCs to the ground, watching the cubes bounce about and finally come to a stop.

Yugi's landed on a six.

Daniel's landed on a six.

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Giovan looked at the numbers and nodded. "The first round will be CJ Anderson vs. Joey Wheeler! Duelists, take your places!"

Joey and CJ exchanged smiles this time. They had hoped it would come down to the two of them. Almost in unison they climbed into the dueling ring and their duel disks clicked into place.

Giovan's voice was like the starting gun to a race. "Let the finals begin! Duel!"

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Rebecca and Amy sat in Rebecca's room, watching the duel on the television.

Amy bit her nails in nervousness. "He has to win this duel..."

Rebecca nodded solemnly. "He will. He will."

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Joey drew his five cards and then his sixth. "Get ready CJ, because I'm not going to go easy on you."

CJ drew his five cards as well. "I'm not expecting you to Joey. Give me your all, or else my victory over you won't feel right."

Joey snickered and slid two cards into his duel disk. "A wise guy huh? Alright then, I summon Alligator's Sword (1500/1200) in attack mode!" A green-scaled warrior appeared on Joey's field and snapped its sword up, ready to fight. "End turn."

CJ drew and slapped down his own monster. "I summon Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) in attack mode." A fire-breathing ape appeared on CJ's field and roared. Without even waiting for CJ to tell it to, it charged across the field, fists outstretched to destroy Joey's monster.

Joey flipped up his face-down card. "I activate the trap card Kunai with Chain!" A metallic boomerang attached to a length of chain appeared on the field. Joey's Alligator Sword grasped the weapon and threw it across the field, the boomerang spinning around the Berserk Gorilla, ensnaring it with the length of chain. The fuming Gorilla screeched in pain and exploded. "This trap just equipped to my Alligator's sword. As long as it is equipped my monster had 500 extra attack points. That's not all though. Kunai with Chain puts one of your monsters to defense mode too." (2000/1200)

CJ frowned. "That explains why my Gorilla exploded. When it is switched to defense mode it is destroyed immediately." He knew that normally he would already be angry, but this duel was different than the other duels in the past. This was one where he didn't feel any pressure to win. There was no tournament to him at the moment. This was nothing more than a casual duel between him and a new friend. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Joey drew and pointed at CJ. "Alligator's Sword! Attack his life points directly!" The scaled warrior shot across the field, only to explode halfway there.

CJ held up his face-down card. "You attacked my Sakuretsu Armor. When I trigger it your monster is destroyed."

Joey nodded and slid a card into his duel disk. "I guess I'd better set this card face-down then. Plus I'll summon Little Winguard (1400/1800) in defense mode. End turn."

CJ drew and slapped down a new monster. "I summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) in attack mode!" A demonic dog appeared on his field and howled. "Attack his Little Winguard now!"

Joey flipped his second face-down card. "Sorry but I can't let that attack get through! I activate the trap card Bottomless Trap Hole! This will drop your monster out of the game!"

The Mad Dog was yanked down into a grey pit, its final howl echoing across the field.

CJ fanned out his remaining cards and pulled one of the middle ones free. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Joey drew and a soft smile played across his face. "I hope you are ready to lose CJ, because I just pulled a monster you probably have a lot of experience with. I sacrifice my Little Winguard to summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!" The armored form of Jinzo appeared on field. Its red eye lenses shimmered and CJ's face-down cards were slapped to the floor. "As long as Jinzo is on the field neither of us can play any trap cards. I have him in play though, so I don't need traps to defend me. You on the other hand..." He left the rest of the sentence out, knowing that CJ already understood the situation he was in.

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Daniel frowned and crossed his arms across his chest. ("That's right; Joey does have a Jinzo doesn't he? That might be a problem for CJ. His deck's main defense is trap cards.")

_("At least you have a connection with your Jinzo though. Wheeler's monster holds only the slightest connections to his spirit.")_

("You can sense the connections between people and things?")

_("No, I'm just lying to you.")_ The tone Rikuo used was so dead-pan that if there was any sarcasm in it, Daniel couldn't detect it.

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Joey pointed at CJ. "Jinzo attack his life points directly!" The monster charged up a ball of dark energy between its palms and fired it at the dark-skinned duelist. The ball struck CJ in the chest and he was thrown to his back. Luckily the pain simulators were on normal settings, because Giovan would have found it hard to explain to a worldwide audience why people were dying in his tournament.

CJ- 5600

Joey- 8000

CJ came back to his feet still smiling. "Alright, this should make things interesting shouldn't it?"

Joey smiled back just as widely. "You know it. End turn."

CJ drew and slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Joey was puzzled that CJ didn't summon a monster to defend himself with, but he didn't want to argue with good fortune. ("That means I can attack his life points directly.")

He drew and slapped down a new monster. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode!" A black steel knight appeared on his field and lifted its sword in preparation to attack. "Now Jinzo, blast him again!" Jinzo cupped its hands together and powered up another ball of dark energy.

CJ tapped a button on his duel disk and his newest set card flipped up. "Reveal Ability Negate! This quickplay equipment magic card connects to your Jinzo and shuts down its special ability, meaning I can play my traps!" A steel clamp popped free from his card and shot across the field, clicking into place on the back of Jinzo's neck right before the metal monster unleashed its attack.

Joey paled at what this meant. ("Crap...")

CJ nodded at the look on Joey's face. "Yeah Joey, it's that bad. Activate Attack Redirect! This trap card sends your Jinzo's attack right back at your field!" The ball of energy swerved and launched back across the field, slamming into Joey's Gearfried and blowing it apart.

CJ- 5600

Joey- 7400

Joey grinned. "I havfta admit, that was a pretty clever play CJ. End turn."

CJ drew. "Thanks man. Now let's get Jinzo off the field with this magic card. I play Fissure! This will destroy the monster on your field with the lowest attack total. Since your only monster is Jinzo, that's the end of your secret weapon." A large crack formed in the earth and yanked Jinzo down into it. There was a loud crunch noise and then the crack in the ground slammed shut.

CJ tossed down his monster. "Now to even up the life point totals I summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode!" A large Minotaur monster appeared on his field and snorted angrily. "Attack his life points directly!" The Minotaur charged and slammed its battle axe down on Joey's shoulder, bringing him to one knee.

CJ- 5600

Joey- 5700

Joey came to his feet and laughed light-heartedly. "That was a pretty good hit. I gotta admit that made my shoulder sting a bit." He knew that at the moment he was at a disadvantage, but he didn't really care. It had been a long while since he had actually had a fun duel.

CJ scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about hitting you so hard man. My turn's done, so let's see if you can turn this around."

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Giovan frowned angrily. If there was one thing he hated it was a friendly game. ("It's a shame that the rest of the board thought it best to televise the finals, or else these two would be dueling for their lives right now.") He reached underneath his chair and pulled out a magazine. To him, anything was better than watching this buddy buddy crap right now.

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Joey drew and slid his card immediately into his disk. "Perfect! I play the magic card Treasure of Fate!" In the air in front of him a white die appeared and started to roll along the ground. "Whatever number this die lands on is how many cards I draw. Then after I draw that many cards I remove that same number of cards from the top of my deck." The die landed on a five.

CJ bit his lower lip nervously as Joey drew five cards and put them into his hand, then he took off another five and slid them into his back pocket. "Wow, that's a powerful magic card Joey."

Joey nodded. "Hell yeah it is. It's a real life saver."

CJ grinned and flipped up his face-down card. "It is? Well then let's see if it can save my life in this duel. I activate the trap card Mirror Action." A white die appeared on CJ's field and began to bounce around. "Now I copy the effect of your magic card." The die landed on a five.

Joey frowned. He had never had someone actually use one of his magic cards against him like that before. "Wow...that's a powerful trap."

CJ nodded as he drew five cards into his hand and then took five cards from his deck and put them into his back pocket. "Yep. And that's not all it allows me to do. Now I may play any magic and trap cards from my hand onto the field. The best part of it is that they can be activated on this turn too. So I set three cards face-down." He folded his hand up and did a little bow to Joey. "Sorry if I broke your groove Joey. Please continue."

Joey blinked in surprise at how polite CJ was being. "Uh...sure." He slid three cards into his duel disk. "I set three cards face-down and I'll summon my Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) in attack mode!" A little warrior appeared on his field. "Now I'll trigger the magic card Monster Reborn to revive Jinzo from the graveyard to the field." The green metal monster rose up from the ground, its red lenses glowing and forcing all of the face-down cards on the field to freeze.

CJ didn't look worried though. He just smiled and watched as Joey built up an attack force.

Joey pointed at the Enraged Battle Ox. "Jinzo attack!" The metal monster charged up its attack and in one flash of dark light CJ was wide open.

CJ- 4900

Joey- 5700

"Now attack his life points directly Swordsman of Landstar!" The little warrior flew across the field and dealt CJ a glancing blow on the shoulder with its sword.

CJ- 4400

Joey- 5700

Joey checked his hand to make sure he did not forget anything. "Looks like all of my plans are in place, so your move CJ."

CJ drew and he nodded, more to himself than to his opponent. "Alright Joey, looks like it's time to bring out the big guns. I activate the magic card Buried Alive, which sends five monsters from my deck into the graveyard." He pulled his deck out of his duel disk and one after another he slid a monster card from his deck into the graveyard slot of his disk. Then he shuffled his deck and clicked it back into his duel disk.

Joey scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Why'd you do that? Your deck looks pretty low on cards now."

CJ shrugged. "Trust me Joey this'll be over soon, one way or another. Now I remove a water, fire, wind, earth, light and dark monster from my graveyard to summon my most powerful monster!" He grabbed the card out of his hand and tossed it onto the field. "Say hello to Nexus the Conqueror!" (3500/3000) A magnificent warrior wearing gladiator's armor appeared on the field. He hefted a huge sword off of his back and bowed to Joey.

Joey whistled in amazement. "Now that's a warrior monster! How'd you get something so rare?"

CJ pointed over to Deondre. "My buddy over there got his hands on a Supreme Duelist Series pack of cards. Luckily I managed to convince him to give me one of them."

Joey crossed his arms across his chest. "Alright, so you're gonna attack my Swordsman right?"

CJ shook his head. "Nope. I'm attacking your Jinzo."

Joey frowned. "You sure about that man? You'll deal me a lot more damage if you kill my Swordsman."

CJ rolled his eyes. "Despite what my friends say I'm not dumb. You've got something face-down to make your Swordsman stronger than my Nexus. I'm attacking your Jinzo and that is final!" The gladiator nodded to his master and charged across the field, sword held high to cut the Jinzo down.

Joey tapped a button on his duel disk. "I warned you man. I reveal the quickplay magic card Call to Arms. This allows me to play any equipment magic card from my hand right now. So I play the magic card Amplifier on Jinzo, which means that now I can play my trap cards!" A steel skullcap covered with wiring appeared on Jinzo's head, and all of Joey's pinned face-down cards lifted up off the ground and hovered again.

CJ saw the problem already. He was running into a fatal trap. ("Crap...")

Joey flipped his next card. "Now I reveal the trap card Skull Dice!" An imp appeared on the field with a red die clenched between its hands. "Whatever number comes up in the roll will decide by just how much your monster's attack power will be cut down by. Go Skull Dice!" The imp dropped the die and it bounced along the ground, finally coming to a stop on a five. "That means your monster's attack power becomes 700!" CJ's Nexus the Conqueror stumbled, his power dropping rapidly.

CJ's eyes were wide as he watched Joey's Jinzo blast his Nexus into oblivion.

CJ- 2700

Joey- 5700

Joey shrugged apologetically to his friend. "Sorry, but I tried to warn you against attacking a monster like Jinzo."

CJ sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah you did...I didn't listen though." He looked his hand over and slapped a monster onto his disk in defense mode. "Don't think that this is the end though Joey. I've still got a chance to win this duel. End turn."

Joey drew and slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "We'll see man. I activate the magic card Starpluster, which will sacrifice my Swordsman of Landstar and then roll a die." The Swordsman exploded and in its place was a glowing golden die. Joey plucked it out of the air and tossed it to the ground. "Now whatever number it lands on plus three will decide what level of monster I can summon from my hand to the field." The golden die landed on a two and Joey slapped down a monster. "Guess that means your gonna face my Flame Swordsman!" (1800/1600) A burly warrior wielding a flaming orange sword appeared.

CJ remained silent through it all. While he was no longer smiling, he didn't look angry either. He was doing his best to remain impassive throughout this entire duel if he could. It would help him in the long run.

Joey pointed at the face-down monster. "Flame Swordsman attack with Flaming Sword of Battle!" The warrior slammed his sword through CJ's monster, instantly incinerating the card.

CJ slid his monster card into the graveyard and braced himself as Joey's Jinzo blasted him directly.

CJ- 300

Joey- 5700

Joey didn't smile this time, though it was mostly because he didn't want to anger CJ. Inside though he was cheering for himself. By the time this duel would be over every duelist in the world would remember him, unlike before when he had never been recognized for his skill during the Duelist Kingdom or Battle City tournaments. "Alright CJ, take your last turn."

CJ drew and his eyes widened in surprise. He had thought that this duel was over for him. The card he had drawn still gave him a chance though. "I wouldn't say that Joey. It's bad luck to say a game is over if you don't know that for sure." His smiled returned in full force. "This duel isn't over yet. Not by a long shot."

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Beatdown vs. Luck

Author's Notes: Whew! I typed this entire story end to end all at once. The worst part of it all is that I'm still hyped up to finish this duel. All of you Joey fans out there tell me what you think of my portrayal of Joey. If you've got questions then please post them in your reviews. I'm going to finish the rest of this duel now.


	42. Beatdown vs Luck

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 42: Beatdown vs. Luck

_CJ drew and his eyes widened in surprise. He had thought that this duel was over for him. The card he had drawn still gave him a chance though. "I wouldn't say that Joey. It's bad luck to say a game is over if you don't know that for sure." His smiled returned in full force. "This duel isn't over yet. Not by a long shot."_

Joey saw CJ's smile and thought it was alright to smile about his immediate victory now. "Oh really? Let's see you back of that claim."

CJ slid the card he had drawn into his duel disk. "Oh don't worry your pretty blond head off Joey, I'll prove it alright! I play the magic card Dream Duel. If I have 500 or less life points then we send all of our current cards to the graveyard and start a new duel with the same life point totals." He picked all of his cards up and slid the stack into his graveyard, leaving his field clear.

Joey did the same. "So we draw five cards now?"

CJ shook his head. "Nope. We each draw the top card of our deck and play it immediately. Then we flip a coin to see who goes first."

As one both duelists drew their single card. In an almost comical manner they both yelled, "I play Pot of Greed!" at exactly the same time. For a second the two of them stared at each other, not yet drawing their cards. Then they both broke down into helpless laughter.

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Daniel chuckled and looked over to see that Yugi was sharing in the good humor too.

Deondre shook his head slightly at CJ. ("God you're an idiot sometimes.")

Kaiba just rolled his eyes and waited for this pathetic side-show of a duel to end.

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Joey was the first to recover. He drew his two cards and slid one of them into his duel disk. "I guess since these two cards count towards our starting card, I'll play this face-down and summon Rocket Warrior (1500/1200) in attack mode."

CJ drew his two and slid them both into his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down. Now let's flip the coin, shall we?" He took a coin out of his pocket and flipped it into the air.

Joey watched the coin launch into the air, leaving a silver arc in its wake. "Heads." The coin landed and sure enough it was on heads.

CJ nodded to his opponent. "You get to go first in this new duel Joey."

Joey drew and pulled his Rocket Warrior off of his disk. He slid the monster into the graveyard and slapped down the new creature. "Time to roll another die. I summon Maximum Six (1900/1200) in attack mode." A giant six-armed purple humanoid appeared on Joey's field. "Now I roll a die and increase his attack power by 200 points times the number on the die." The giant cocked back one of its arm and threw a little white die to the ground. The die bounced around insanely and finally landed on a one. (2100/1200)

CJ winced. "That sucks. You were better off with the Rocket Warrior."

Joey shrugged and pointed at CJ. "It's not like it matters. Maximum Six attack his life points directly!" The giant charged across the field, only to slam into a barrier. It roared in anger and punched the invisible wall a few times before giving up and tromping back over to Joey's field.

CJ held up one of his two face-down cards. "You triggered my Defense Shield. This trap card protects me from all forms of damage until the end of the turn it is activated."

Joey frowned but he couldn't really complain. ("That trap could have been a lot worse for me.") "End turn."

CJ drew and looked over at Joey's field. ("Chances are good that Joey has a trap card for an attack.") He realized it didn't matter. He either attacked now or it was game over for him anyway. "I summon Berserk Gorilla in attack mode! Attack his Maximum Six!" The fire-breathing ape roared and stomped across the field, fists ready to crush Joey's monster.

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Daniel bit his lower lip. ("What is he doing!?")

_("I know exactly what that ape has face-down. He's hoping to trigger it at the last possible second, so that Wheeler doesn't have a chance to activate his face-down card to counter it.")_

("That's too risky though...")

_("He doesn't have much of a choice in the matter at the moment.")_

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Joey knew that CJ had something up his sleeve. "I'm not gonna let your monster's attack get through! Reveal face-down trap card Graverobber! This trap lets me steal one card from your graveyard, so I'll take your Defense Shield and block your attack!" The invisible wall sprang up and stopped the Berserk Gorilla cold in its tracks.

CJ smiled and flipped up his face-down card. "Sorry Joey, but I was hoping you would counter my attack. That lets me activate my face-down trap card Renewed Efforts. This will negate the trap card you used and increase my Berserk Gorilla's attack power by 500 points until the end of the turn." (2500/1000)

The invisible wall dropped and a now much larger Berserk Gorilla flew across the field and slammed its fists down on top of Joey's Maximum Six. The giant crashed face-first into the ground and exploded into digital dust.

CJ- 300

Joey- 5300

CJ nodded to his friend. "I hope you get a nice draw. End turn."

Joey drew and frowned. "I wish I was that lucky. End turn."

CJ drew and slapped down a new monster. "That's too bad Joey. I summon D.D. Crazy Beast (1400/1400) to compliment my attack force." A red and teal googly eyed monster appeared on his field and let loose with a garbled roar. "Now Berserk Gorilla and D.D. Crazy Beast, attack Joey's life points directly!" The two creatures launched across the field and tackled Joey, sending him backwards a few feet.

CJ- 300

Joey- 1900

CJ took a calming breath. He was one turn away from victory. "End turn."

Joey drew and his eyes widened in a way very much like CJ's had when he had drawn Dream Duel. "This should be an interesting next turn. I'll set two cards face-down and pass to you."

CJ drew and slid his D.D. Crazy Beast into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my D.D. Crazy Beast to summon Manticore of Darkness (2300/1200) in attack mode." As the red and teal beast faded away it was replaced by a winged humanoid lion monster.

Joey bit his lower lip nervously. His victory all came down to the card he was about to activate. "Alright, let's end this CJ!"

CJ nodded. "I couldn't agree more! Manticore of Darkness attack!" The lion roared and shot across the field, claws outstretched to strike down the blond-haired duelist.

Joey said a silent prayer and flipped up his face-down card. "I activate the trap card Aura Armor!" A suit of dragonic armor appeared on Joey's field and absorbed the blow from the Manticore. "This negates your monsters attack and creates a player token on the field with an attack and defense equal to half of my life points."

CJ- 300

Joey- 950

The armor flew over to Joey and snapped on around him, giving him the appearance of a dragon knight. (950/950)

CJ scratched at his chin in thought. "That saved you from one attack, but my Gorilla can still wipe you out. Now go Berserk Gorilla, end this duel right now!" The fire-breathing ape roared and charged across the field to smash Joey into the steel floor.

Joey said that silent prayer once more, just to make sure that it stuck. ("Please...I'm beggin ya here...") "Not so fast CJ! I reveal the trap card Take One Chance!" A sorter machine appeared on Joey's field and began to shake. "This machine right here is going to give me one random card from either of our graveyards. I may immediately play that card, regardless of what it is."

The machine pinged and spat out a card. Joey steadied himself and reached out to tug it free. His chances of winning rested on whatever this card was. ("Please...just this once let me be the winner in the finals of a tournament. Please...") He drew the card and felt tears develop in his eyes.

CJ grimaced. "Hey man, I'm sorry you didn't win. It was fate. Rikuo's on our team and...." His words died in his throat as Joey started to jump up and down in delight. The tears he had shed weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of joy.

Joey slapped down the card he had drawn into his duel disk. "It's time end this! Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) in attack mode!" The Berserk Gorilla was just inches from landing a punch on Joey's head when a streaking blur of black scales slammed into it. The two forms wrestled for a moment before the black armoring of Joey's favorite monster offered the advantage the Red-Eyes needed to overcome the Gorilla. In one bite CJ's monster was gone and so were the rest of his life points.

CJ- 0

Joey- 1900

CJ stood there, blinking in confusion. ("How...what...when...err...")

Joey stood up and smiled, this time in a much friendlier manner. "That was a great duel CJ." The holographic projectors shut down and the dragon armor Joey was wearing disappeared. "You nearly had me." He extended his hand to his newest friend. "We're still cool right?"

CJ's confusion broke down. He smiled back and shook Joey's hand. "Of course. It's not like the tournament victory was riding on this duel. I know that Deondre and Daniel can pull it off."

The dueling ring lowered to ground level and the two friends had already gotten into the lovely game of complimenting each other's plays from the duel.

"That Amplifier combo with Jinzo was great. I ran right into that one."

"Yeah, but when you used Mirror Action to steal my Treasure of Fate effect? That was pure genius!"

"Yeah but..." CJ was stopped cold by the glare he was getting from Deondre. ("Apparently not everyone who is a member of my team likes having a fun duel.")

Daniel wasn't even paying attention to CJ anymore. He already had the COC in his hand and was getting ready to roll it as soon as Giovan announced them to do so. ("Please let me get Kaiba.")

Giovan yawned and looked up from his magazine. "Oh is it over yet?" When he saw that the field was empty, he placed his magazine back under his chair and looked down at the assembled duelists. "By the look of the scoreboard it seems like Team Topdeck got victory snatched from them at the last moment. So now then, let's get on with the next COC roll. Hopefully the two duelists that are chosen will have a bigger dislike of each other than those two had."

Daniel and Yugi rolled their COCs.....

_To be continued..._

Next chapter: Defeating the Dragon Master

Author's Notes: Ah another chapter finished! I feel so accomplished. I like writing for the finals of tournaments, because I can imagine the tension in the air. It's invigorating.

Anyway, I hope that this met all of the Joey lover's expectations of a good duel for their fave character. I promised that I would make his earlier loss up to you, and I hope that this was enough. If not....er.....um.....::Runs off::

BoatySX: Hey dude, I know you want to talk to me, but the website doesn't like it when you post web addresses in your reviews and it cuts them out. If you still want to contact me put your email address in l-i-k-e t-h-i-s. I'll get back to you as soon I get your email.


	43. Defeating the Dragon Master

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 43: Defeating the Dragon Master

Both COCs landed on threes.

Deondre cracked his knuckles and looked over at Kaiba. "Guess that means you and me, huh?"

Kaiba frowned. "I suppose so. I was hoping that I would finally get a challenge in this tournament. Unfortunately I've been sadly mistaken."

Deondre walked into the dueling ring and looked down at his opponent. "Why don't you come up here and prove that you are so great? I've seen you duel before and I'll admit that you have plenty of power in your deck. Now though I'm going to show you that power isn't everything."

Kaiba took his place on the dueling ring and clicked his duel disk into place. He glared coldly at Deondre. "You think I have no skill and strategy to my deck hmm? I suppose I will just have to destroy you to prove you wrong."

Deondre clicked his duel disk into place. ("Just watch Kaiba. My deck is going to take you out of this tournament.")

Giovan clapped his hands together excitedly. "Now this is what I am talking about! The conflict that makes duels so very great! Round two of the finals! Seto Kaiba vs. Deondre Anderson! Begin!"

Deondre drew his five and looked his hand over. "Mind if I go first?"

Kaiba drew his five and within seconds he went emotionless. "Be my guest. That way you won't have any excuses when I wipe you off the face of this field."

Deondre drew his sixth card. ("Here goes nothing. I hope this doesn't backfire on me.") He slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card D.D. Designator!"

The grey body-suited form of D.D. Warrior Lady appeared on the field. The blond-haired woman looked over at Deondre expectantly. He smiled back at her. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon." The woman nodded and ran over to Kaiba's field. She flew past him, snatching a card from his hand and disappearing.

Kaiba's eyes flickered in rage for a moment. "What was that?"

Deondre slid his magic card into the graveyard. "Allow me to explain. D.D. Designator allows me to call the name of one card. If that card is in your hand it gets removed from the game. That means your Blue-Eyes White Dragon just left this duel permanently."

Kaiba frowned, though he had to admit that he was impressed. Not many had ever taken care of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons before they had a chance to hit the field. Not that it mattered to him though. He would bring his team into the duel against Giovan by crushing this weakling beneath his heel. ("And my wish for a way to defeat Yugi once and for all will be fulfilled.") "Anything else you would like to play?"

Deondre slid two cards from his hand into the duel disk and set one monster in defense. "End turn."

Kaiba drew and his eyes flicked over his five cards. Without his Blue-Eyes White Dragon he was out his biggest attacker, but that didn't mean he was finished yet. He had the perfect combo in his hand to annihilate his opponent. "I summon Peten the Dark Clown (500/1200) in defense mode and set two cards face-down. End turn." A goofy-looking clown in a crouching position appeared on his field and tipped its hat to Deondre.

Deondre gave the clown a look of utter disgust. "Again with that annoying, self-replicating clown!? I thought I left that thing behind when I beat Clarice!"

He drew and slapped down a monster. "I summon D.D. Lancer (1500/1500) in attack mode!" A laser-lance wielding warrior appeared on his field. "Attack Peten now!" The Lancer charged and ran the clown through. "Thanks to the special ability of my Lancer, you take damage even though your monster is in defense mode."

Deondre- 8000

Kaiba- 7700

Kaiba sneered. "I'll gladly lose 300 life points in exchange for a chance to infect your pitiful deck with my Deck Destruction Virus."

A purple mist floated over Deondre's field and his D.D. Lancer screamed in pain, right before he exploded into bits. The mist fell over the dimension duelist's deck and he watched in horror as his deck lost a third of its cards. "What's going on!?"

Kaiba laughed haughtily. "My Deck Destruction Virus activates when I lose a dark attribute monster with 1000 or less attack points. It infects your field, hand and deck with a powerful virus that sends all monsters with 1500 or more attack points straight to the graveyard." He snickered as a new Peten the Dark Clown was summoned from his deck to the field.

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Daniel just stood there, mouth hanging open....

_("Close your damned mouth. You are letting in flies.")_

Daniel's mouth popped shut, but he still stared in horror. ("Deondre's...entire attack force is gone.")

_("He's not out yet, or have you forgotten that Viper did the same thing to you and we still pulled out alright.")_

("That was a different situation though...")

_("Just watch. Deondre still has this duel within his control.")_

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Deondre looked his two remaining cards over and nodded to himself. ("This could work.") "I set these two cards face-down and end my turn."

Kaiba drew and slid his Peten into the graveyard; another of the clowns reappearing on his field instantly. "I sacrifice my Dark Clown to summon Kaiser Glider (2400/1400) in attack mode!" A large golden dragon appeared on his field and roared, a ball of flames building up within its jaws. "Flame Shockwave attack! Wipe out his face-down monster!" The dragon unleashed a ball of fire that traveled along the ground, pulsing with light.

Deondre flipped up one of his four face-down cards. "I activate the trap card Dimensional Nova! It triggers whenever you attack with a monster. Now all of our monsters will be sent into the removed from play pile." A bright flash of light enveloped the field and left both duelists with no creatures.

Kaiba frowned and slid a card into his duel disk. "End turn." As soon as he said that a futuristic-looking metallic pod appeared on Deondre's field.

"This is my D.D. Scout Plane. (800/1200) Every time it is sent into the removed from play pile it gets special summoned back to my field at the end of the turn." Deondre drew and frowned. ("I need monsters so that I can attack his life points directly.") "I set this monster face-down and switch my Scout Plane into defense mode."

Kaiba drew and he slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I play Monster Reborn to revive one of my Petens!" Said Dark Clown reappeared on the field and tipped its hat to Deondre. "Now I play the magic card Cost Down." He slid a card from his hand into the graveyard. "By playing this magic card I can lower the level stars of all monsters in my hand by two." He slid Peten into the graveyard and threw down his last card. "So now I summon forth the Unstoppable Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack mode!" The ground around him shimmered and his ultimate weapon of destruction appeared, the white-scaled dragon roaring down at Deondre angrily.

Deondre looked at his three face-down cards and nodded to himself. ("This will work. Come on Kaiba, take the bait...")

Kaiba looked Deondre's field and smiled wryly. "End turn."

Deondre felt his blood run cold. Kaiba had figured out what he had planned. ("Damn...")

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Yugi looked over at Daniel. "Do you think that Deondre can still win?"

Daniel scratched at the back of his head impatiently. "I hope so."

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Deondre drew and his eyes widened. ("That's right. My ultimate weapon...") "I set this card face-down on my field and end my turn. Now do your worst Kaiba."

Kaiba drew and slapped down his newest monster. "Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) will be my test subject. Attack his face-down monster now!" A blue-armored monster appeared on Kaiba's field and launched across the steel plain, cutting Deondre's face-down monster apart.

Deondre frowned. "I see you got wise to my plan of using Dimensional Warrior (1200/800) to remove your Blue-Eyes from play. Well since it isn't your Blue-Eyes I won't be removing it from play."

Kaiba nodded and pointed at the D.D. Scout Plane. "You can't hide anything from me. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack his Scout Plane with Burst Stream!" The dragon charged up a lump of white energy within its jaws and released the blast at Deondre's plane. In one thunderous explosion Deondre was all alone on his field. "End turn."

Looking down at his deck, Deondre prayed that it would help him. He needed one draw to turn this duel around on Kaiba. ("I need that one card now more than ever.") He drew and snapped the card up right in front of his face. As his vision shifted and he could see the card clearly, a smile lit up his face. ("Say hello to some pain Kaiba.")

He slid his new card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Monster Returned! This allows me to special summon one monster from any removed from play pile to the field. So I summon your removed Blue-Eyes White Dragon to my field!" A blue portal opened in front of him and Kaiba's mightiest creature flew out of it, crashing to the field with a roar to announce its arrival.

Now Kaiba was mad. It was bad enough to have this scum remove his Blue-Eyes from the game before it even got a chance to see play, but to bring it under his control... "You will pay for this. I promise you that you will pay."

Deondre countered with the corniest joke he could think of. "I'll be sure to send you a check in the mail then." He pointed at the Kaiser Seahorse. "Burst Stream!" His newly acquired dragon charged up a ball of energy that instantly annihilated Kaiba's monster.

Deondre- 8000

Kaiba- 6400

Deondre nodded to his opponent. "Thanks for the dragon Kaiba. End turn."

Kaiba drew and he smiled darkly. "Enjoy it while it lasts, because if I cannot have that dragon then neither shall you! Burst Stream!" His Blue-Eyes charged up its attack.

Deondre pointed at Kaiba's respective dragon. "Burst Stream!"

The two dragon attacks collided in the middle, covering the ring with light. When it cleared there was nothing left of either monster.

Kaiba slid the card he had drawn into his duel disk. "Now I'll use Premature Burial. At the cost of 800 life points I will revive my Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the graveyard."

Deondre flipped his middle card. "Not if I have anything to say about it! I activate the trap card Disappear! This will remove the dragon you are targeting from the game, meaning you wasted your magic card.

Deondre- 8000  
Kaiba- 5600

Kaiba fumed quietly. "End turn."

Deondre drew and his eyes widened a little. ("Well well well, have a look at what I drew.") He slid the new card into his duel disk. "I play D.D. Beacon." A green glowing pod appeared on his field. "End turn."

Kaiba drew and frowned. "How disappointing. End turn."

Deondre drew and he slapped down his new card. "I summon Dimensional Warrior in attack mode!" The red haired warrior appeared and hefted his sword. "Attack his life points!"

Kaiba flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Not a chance! I reveal Ring of Destruction!" A metal ring lined with grenades appeared around the Dimensional Warrior's neck. There was click noise and then the ring exploded, destroying the Dimensional Warrior instantly. "When your monster is destroyed we both lose life points equal to its attack points." His lips lifted into a cold smile. "Or I would, except that I am flipping up my Barrel Behind the Door trap card, which will deal you all of the damage. Say goodbye to 2400 of your life points." A golden gun appeared and clicked back its hammer, about to fire at Deondre.

Right before it hit Deondre flipped up his face-down card. "Sorry Kaiba, but I was ready for that. Reveal Curse of Pain! This will repeat the reflection effect of your Barrel Behind the Door, except this time you are the target!" The gun stopped in mid-shot and clicked back into place. It spun around and shot the surprised Kaiba at point blank range, sending him to the ground.

Deondre- 8000

Kaiba- 3200

Deondre looked at his two remaining face-down cards hopefully. They were his last remaining defense against Kaiba. "End turn."

Kaiba came back to his feet and drew. He was done being emotional about this duel. It was time for this major annoyance to be removed. "I play Card of Demise, which allows me to draw until I have five cards in my hand." He drew five cards off the top of his deck and looked them over. "This is what I needed to end this duel." He slid one of the cards from his hand into his duel disk. "Activate Heavy Storm!" A heavy wind picked up on the field, threatening to destroy all of Deondre's face-down cards and his D.D. Beacon.

Deondre flipped his last defense against magic cards. "Reveal Magic Drain! This trap requires that you either discard a magic card from your hand or your Heavy Storm is negated."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes angrily. "I cannot stop you from doing this to me. My Heavy Storm has been negated." He slid the magic card into his graveyard and slapped down his next card. "I will however summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode!" A demon beast carrying a wickedly curved sword appeared. "Attack his life points!" The Vorse Raider lunged across the field and slammed its curved sword down upon Deondre's shoulder, throwing him to a knee.

Deondre- 6100

Kaiba- 3200

Kaiba slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I'll set this and end my turn."

Deondre drew and he smiled. "I've got you now Kaiba. Prepare to take on my ultimate spellcaster." He slid the card he had drawn into his deck. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive my Dark Magician (2500/2100) from the graveyard!" The purple-robed magician appeared on Deondre's field and bowed to his master. Deondre smiled back at his newest and by far coolest cards.

Kaiba growled quietly. "A Dark Magician hmm? I have enough experience with them to know that they are nothing compared to my Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

Deondre pointed at the Vorse Raider. "Shut him up Dark Magician. Dark Magic Attack!" The spellcaster pointed his staff at Kaiba's monster and unleashed a wave of inverted light.

Kaiba flipped up his face-down card. "Reveal Negate Attack! This will stop your attack this turn." A whirling vortex absorbed the energy from the attack and left Kaiba's Vorse Raider untouched.

Deondre sighed and nodded to Kaiba. "End turn."

Kaiba drew, hoping he could try and turn this disaster of duel around. He looked at his newest card and breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Good bye and good riddance to you. I play the magic card Blue-Eyes Revival. By sacrificing my Vorse Raider I may revive a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard to the field." The enormous white scaled dragon re-appeared on Kaiba's field and roared at Deondre, bearing its teeth at the sight of its hated enemy, the Dark Magician. "The only downside to Blue-Eyes Revival is that I may not attack this turn. So make your last draw so I can end this duel."

Deondre drew and smiled. "You talk way too much crap Kaiba. I play Card of Sanctity!" A heavenly light fell over the field. "Now each of us draw until we have six cards in our hand!" He drew his six cards and looked over the cards with a mix of confusion and relief. ("These cards are perfect...but how did they get into my deck.") He knew for a fact that he did own any of these six cards. He wasn't going to complain though. Considering all of the insane things happening at this tournament so far, getting good cards was by far the lowest on the weird stuff scale.

Deondre made sure he had the order he needed to play these cards in perfectly remembered. ("Let's get this chain started.") "I activate the magic card Magical Silk Hats!" A huge black top hat appeared on Deondre's field and fell over his Dark Magician, instantly concealing it. Then the hat changed into four hats. "With this magic card my Dark Magician will remain concealed from view."

("Now for phase two.") Deondre slid two of the cards he was holding into his duel disk. They did not appear on the field though. "I play two cards under one of my Magical Silk Hats." He slid two more cards face-down. "Now I set these two cards normally on my field. End turn."

Kaiba drew and sneered. "You think I am going to fall for this old ploy? I'll show you fool." He slid two cards into his disk. "I set these two cards face-down on the field and end my turn."

Deondre drew and smiled at Kaiba. "You're the one who is going to lose his hand in three turns friend, not me. I can play this waiting game as long as you want." Deondre placed a monster in defense on his disk. It did not appear on the field though. "I set this monster inside another of my Magical Silk Hats. End turn."

Kaiba drew and he could almost feel the guillotine of the Card of Demise getting ready to cut his hand apart. ("I need to make some progress before I lose my hand.") "I set two more cards face-down and end my turn."

Deondre drew and his eyes widened. "Wow...It looks like this duel is almost over for you Kaiba."

Kaiba snorted and tilted his head up haughtily. "How foolish of you. You think I will beaten by your pitiful deck?"

Deondre nodded gently. "Yep. Get ready Kaiba, because this duel is over as soon as that guillotine of yours falls. End turn."

Kaiba drew and his eyes widened in surprise. "I believe they call this a topdeck. I play the magic card Card Sanctum." A small shrine appeared on the field and began to pulse.

Deondre raised one of his eyebrows at the card. "What the heck does that do?"

Kaiba took his hand and slid it into his graveyard. "This continuous magic card allows me to gain 500 life points for every card that I sacrifice from my hand to it."

Deondre shrugged. "That's not so bad."

Kaiba snorted. "Clean out your ears stupid. This means I gain 1500 life points every turn."

Deondre's eyes snapped open. "Oh..."

Kaiba smiled at the look of horror that crossed his opponent's face. ("I love watching them do that.") "You know that means that I will just sit here and gain life points, while you slowly deck yourself and hide behind your defenses. Now you have no choice but to try and attack. So come..." He motioned to his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "And meet your doom!" His laughter echoed across the arena.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The Lord of Dimensions arises

Author's notes: This would be the third chapter I have typed today. I am on a freaking roll. Oh yeah, read and review please. I love to hear from you guys about my story, because reviews that point out the bad stuff of my story is better than no reviews at all.

You know what, ignore me. I'm on babble right now because my hands are in over-type mode. Later.


	44. The Lord of Dimensions arises

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Chapter 44: The Lord of Dimensions Arises

_Kaiba smiled at the look of horror that crossed his opponent's face. ("I love watching them do that.") "You know that means that I will just sit here and gain life points, while you slowly deck yourself and hide behind your defenses. Now you have no choice but to try and attack. So come..." He motioned to his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "And meet your doom!" His laughter echoed across the arena._

Deondre drew and grimaced at the card he had drawn. This was the first time he had ever gone against an opponent who didn't try to use beatdown on him. Now he had to rethink his entire strategy or else he would wind up drawing his entire deck. "End turn."

Kaiba drew, the card instantly being slashed apart by the secondary effect of Card of Demise. "And now my Card Sanctum raises my life points by 1500." The shrine released an unearthly glow that enveloped Kaiba. "End turn."

Deondre- 6100

Kaiba- 4700

Deondre drew and hissed in annoyance. ("Another card I can't use.") "End turn."

Kaiba smirked at his superior position over his opponent in this duel. "I see you are starting understand that as long as I don't attack you can't touch me with anything." He drew his card, the shrine shined its light on him, and he nodded to Deondre. "End turn."

Deondre- 6100

Kaiba- 6200

Deondre drew and he groaned in frustration. "End turn."

Kaiba drew, looked at his card, then nodded back to his opponent. "End turn."

Deondre- 6100

Kaiba- 7700

Deondre couldn't believe this. All of his hard work was being undone by one stupid magic card. ("I need a way to kill that damn thing.") He drew and scratched at his chin. Now was the best time to go over his field and see if he could do anything about this situation. ("Let's see...") He had three cards face-down and his D.D. Beacon in play with one counter on it. He still had four Magical Silk Hats on his field and underneath one of them was a monster. Underneath two of them were trap cards. The last one contained his Dark Magician. He currently had four cards in his hand too. ("And I can't use any of them to take out Kaiba. All of these cards are defensive in nature.") "End turn."

Kaiba drew and didn't even bother to look at his card. "End turn."

Deondre- 6100

Kaiba- 9200

Deondre drew and his eyes widened at the card he had drawn. ("This might have a chance to work.") He slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Dimension Hole. This effect teleports one of my Magical Silk Hats off of the field until the beginning of my next turn." As one of his hats disappeared, a counter appeared over his D.D. Beacon.

"Then I play another the magic card D.D. Gathering, which lets me search my deck for any monster with D.D. in its title." He pulled free the thin remains of his deck and grabbed a monster card out of it. A third counter was over his D.D. Beacon.

"My next move requires that I bring my face-down monster out of hiding." One of the three remaining Magical Silk Hats lifted up and the face-down brown-backed card underneath it floated off the side. The hat landed back on the ground and all three of the magical top hats spun in a circle rapidly, concealing which one was now empty.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Is this going anywhere? Or are you just wasting my precious time?"

Deondre ignored him. "Now I flip up my D.D. Scout plane into attack position." The metal pod appeared and hovered on his field. A fourth counter appeared over his Beacon. "Now to finish my combo I sacrifice my Scout Plan to summon D.D. Dragon (1200/1500) in attack mode." A crystalline dragon appeared on his field and screeched. The fifth counter appeared on his D.D. Beacon and Deondre smiled. ("Alright, now we just need to wait a turn.") "End turn."

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CJ watched the field fearfully. If Deondre lost his duel then they were out of the tournament. If he won though... ("Better not Jinx it.")

Daniel crossed his arms across his chest. ("This is getting to be nothing more then one big standoff.")

Rikuo's voice sound rather peeved. _("Shut up. You have no idea how to properly wait out your opponent, do you?")_

("Wait them out?")

_("Deondre is getting ready for something very big.")_

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Kaiba drew and looked at Deondre's field appraisingly, his mind churning to try and remember what D.D. Beacon did. Unfortunately for him he was coming up with nothing but blanks. He had never heard of the card before and therefore it was going to be a liability for him until he figured out a way to destroy it. ("That shouldn't be too hard.") He slid a card face-down, filling up his magic and trap card spaces. ("Next turn I will trigger Dust Tornado in response to the next card he plays. That way his Beacon will no longer be around and the mysterious threat it represents will be gone.") "End turn."

Deondre- 6100

Kaiba- 10,700

Deondre drew and watched as his fourth Magical Silk Hat returned to the field. "Alright, it's time to pin you down Kaiba." He slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card D.D. Stasis Field! This will leave all of your magic and traps useless for three turns!"

Kaiba pressed a button his duel disk. "In response I trigger Dust Tornado!" A blue bubble of energy formed over the field and anchored all of Kaiba's cards face-down. His Dust Tornado never had activated.

Deondre smiled and pointed at his duel disk. "D.D. Stasis Field is so good for one reason only. You are not allowed to chain anything to its activation. And since you used up all of your magic and trap spaces, you cannot play magic or trap cards for three whole turns."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed at this announcement. ("He's right...I'm locked out of magic and traps for three turns...")

Deondre looked at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and smiled. "Now I can trigger one of my face-down cards without fear. I activate the trap card Provocation!" The trap card flipped up and Kaiba's dragon roared in uncontrollable rage. "As long as this trap remains on the field you must attack every creature on my field that has the name Magical Silk Hat." He smiled and tipped his cap to Kaiba. "Have a nice time hitting my hats, dragon boy. End turn."

Kaiba drew and clenched his fist in anger. His Blue-Eyes White Dragon had to attack one of his opponent's Magical Silk Hats now. He lowered his head down to look at the steel floor. "Damn you..."

Deondre smiled and crossed his arms across his chest defiantly. "Come on Kaiba, pick your hat."

Kaiba snapped his hand up and pointed at the hat on the far left. "Burst Stream!" The dragon charged up its attack and fired, the lump of energy destroying the hat instantly. As the smoke cleared a pair of face-up cards revealed themselves, much to Kaiba's horror. ("No...")

Deondre pointed at Kaiba and grinned. "You, my dear sir, hit the jackpot! You've activated my double trap combo! Spell-Binding Circle and Shadow Spell!" A glowing circle appeared around the dragon and its attack power was drained. (2300/2500)

Then the Shadow Spell went off and a storm of chains appeared from the face-up trap card, instantly tying up the massive dragon and draining it of 700 more attack points. (1600/2500)

Kaiba trembled in silent rage. "End turn."

Deondre drew and waved his hand with a flourish. "Now I negate the effect of Magical Silk Hats!" The top hats disappeared off the field and revealed his Dark Magician. "Dark Magic Attack!" The Dark Magician raised its staff and in one flash of inverted light Kaiba's dragon was gone.

Deondre- 6100

Kaiba- 9800

Deondre whistled innocently to his opponent. "End turn."

Kaiba drew...and smiled. "Well this is unexpected. You shouldn't have dropped your Magical Silk Hats defense."

Deondre narrowed his eyes. "Why is that?"

Kaiba slapped down his new monster. "I summon Blue Eyes Hatchling (800/800) in defense mode!" A little white dragon hatchling appeared on Kaiba's field and screeched at the Dark Magician.

Deondre rolled his eyes. "What kind of comeback is this?"

Kaiba pointed at his hatchling. "Activate Special Ability! Instant Evolution!" The little hatchling exploded into digital bits. "You see when I sacrifice Blue Eyes Hatchling I may special summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand to the field."

Deondre went pale. "No..."

Kaiba sneered and slapped down his third dragon. It appeared in a flourish of light, roaring in anger at the sight of the Magician. "Good bye, you sad excuse for a spellcaster! Burst Stream!" The dragon unleashed its attack and the Dark Magician was instantly annihilated.

Deondre- 5600

Kaiba- 9800

Kaiba chuckled darkly. "Looks like we are back where we started. End turn."

Deondre drew his card. "Wrong Kaiba. Say good-bye to your third dragon."

Kaiba snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "Your false threats waste both our time."

Deondre flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Activate Soul Resurrection! This trap card can revive one non-effect monster from my graveyard. I choose to return the Dark Magician to the field." The card shimmered and released a white mist that clouded a spot on the field. When the mist cleared it the Dark Magician stood in back on the field.

Kaiba raised one of his eyebrows questioningly. "A defense?"

Deondre shook his head and pointed to his D.D. Beacon. "Now it's time to crack the egg, so to speak. I sacrifice D.D. Beacon to summon the mighty stasis magic card Dimensional Armor to my field!" The green device exploded and in its place was a glowing suit of crystalline blue armor. "Now watch Kaiba as your third dragon gets blown away forever. Go Dimensional Armor! Attach to my Dark Magician!" The crystal armor snapped onto the spellcaster and the entire field was engulfed in light.

When the light cleared, a new magician stood in the position where the Dark Magician had been. It had crystalline blue robes, a long crystal blue staff, and long blond hair. "Say hello to the greatest magician this side of the Different Dimension! Different Dimension Dark Magician!" (2700/2700)

Kaiba didn't look impressed. "I'm starting to question your math skills. For all the lights and smoke that accompanied your monster's arrival, it still doesn't add up to my Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

Deondre waved his finger up near his face. "Tsk tsk tsk...you should know that every good magician always has a trick up his sleeve. For example, the special ability of my Different Dimension Dark Magician is that when he is special summoned to field he removes one monster on it from the game." The Magician slammed its staff into the ground and a portal appeared beneath the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Screeching a roar of surprise, Kaiba's last dragon was gone.

Kaiba felt the blood drain from his face. Until the end of his opponent's next turn he still couldn't use magic or trap cards. And with a 2700 attack monster on his opponent's field, he was wide open to be destroyed.

Deondre knew the look on Kaiba's face. "You think that it is over?"

Kaiba frowned, defiance shining in his eyes. "You wish I was that easily broken! I still have over 8000 life points remaining. You won't be able to get to get rid of my life points before it is too late. Once I have access to my traps and my magic cards again this entire duel will turn around on you."

Deondre sighed and slid one of the cards in his hand into his duel disk. "I play the ritual magic card Dimensional Rift! It requires that I sacrifice up to nine level stars worth of monsters, so I sacrifice my Triple D Magician and this D.D. Scout Plane in my hand." The two monsters appeared in front of a giant crystalline gateway. They both exploded into particles of light that sprayed over the gate of the portal. For a moment nothing happened, and then the gate opened.

The being that strode out of the portal could only be described as a king. His futuristic armor glimmered in the light of the dueling arena, his platinum blond hair looked like spun gold. In his hand he held a scepter made of the same crystalline material as the robes of the Different Dimension Dark Magician. "Kaiba, allow me to introduce you to his majesty, The Lord of the Different Dimension!" (4000/2500)

Kaiba grimaced, though it quickly changed into a small smile. "Heh, do you really think that your monster impresses me? He's just like the rest of your monsters. Nothing but smoke and mirrors."

Deondre bowed to the Lord. "If you could milord, show this guy what you can do." The Lord of the Different Dimension nodded and slammed his scepter head first into the ground.

There was a loud explosion and Kaiba heard his graveyard slot whine in protest. "What're you doing!?" As if on cue Kaiba watched as phantom images of all of the monsters in his graveyard wafted out of the slot and then faded like puffs of smoke.

Deondre's voice broke the hanging silence that followed the effect going off. "When the Lord of the Different Dimension hits the field all monsters in every graveyard are removed from play."

Kaiba's coat billowed in the wind that had picked up around them. "You've removed my Blue-Eyes White Dragons from the game. All of them. For that I will destroy you. As soon as I get my trap and magic cards back then you will be decimated."

Deondre's sharp words snapped him out of his building anger. "Were you listening before? There is no next turn for you Kaiba! Reveal my final face-down card, Return from a Different Dimension!" A portal ripped open behind him. "This trap card costs half of my life points to work, but its effect tends to be worth the hefty cost. It allows me special summon as many monsters as I can from one players removed from play pile. Guess whose pile I am picking?" The portal groaned as all three of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragons came through it at once, the three titanic beasts forming a half-circle behind the Lord of the Different Dimension.

Kaiba stared in horror as his own dragons prepared to annihilate him. ("This is impossible! I am the world champion of Duel Monsters! He's just some low level duelist! How can he be doing this!?")

Deondre pointed at Kaiba. "Blue-Eyes White Dragons! BURST STREAM!" All three of the dragons unleashed their attacks at once. The concussion from the blast shattered most of the lens on the cameras surrounding the arena, and threw everyone in the arena to their butts.

Deondre- 2800

Kaiba- 800

As the smoke from the triple Burst Stream blast cleared, the unconscious form of Seto Kaiba could be seen lying face-first on the ground.

Deondre continued to stare across the field, eyes shimmering in the torch light.

The dueling ring was lowered to ground level and Daniel ran up to check on his friend. He waved a hand in front of Deondre's face and when he got no reaction he chuckled. "Wow...he passed out from the intensity of the moment."

CJ rolled his eyes and picked up Deondre in a fireman's carry, taking him off the field as the holograms faded. Joey went over and got Kaiba off the field too.

Giovan smiled coldly. "I suppose that brings up to the main event, wouldn't you agree gentlemen?" He addressed the question to Yugi and Daniel.

As one they nodded and walked into the dueling arena. They took their spots across from each other and smiled warm-heartedly.

"Despite whatever happens..." Yugi began.

"There won't be any hard feelings." Daniel finished for him.

They let those words hang in the air as their other selves took over.

Yugi's eyes closed. When they opened their possessed such a powerful intensity to them that was so out of character on Yugi's face that Yami had to be in control.

For the Daniel the change left him much different. As his already wild red hair reached his back and his eyes turned amber-golden and slotted, he slid back from the fore-front of his own mind and gave Rikuo control.

Silence hung over the ring as the two spirits faced off.

Finally Yami broke it. "I am curious to see just how powerful of a duelist you really are Rikuo. I've never seen you or your host duel before. How about we have a little game?"

The wolf demon chuckled as his duel disk clicked into place. "Sure."

Yami's duel disk clicked into place and he nodded. "Let's duel!"

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: Rikuo vs. Yami

Author's notes: And the finals are down to the final stretch. Who will win in the end?

Oh, and to all the Kaiba fans in the audience, please do not hate me. If you are displeased with me let me know and I will make it up to you later in the storyline. I already owed Joey a victory, and if Kaiba won then where would the drama of this duel be?

As always, Read and Review please. For they are the energy that encourages me to write this story.


	45. YugiYami vs DanielRikuo

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Chapter 45: Daniel/Rikuo vs. Yugi/Yami

_Finally Yami broke it. "I am curious to see just how powerful of a duelist you really are Rikuo. I've never seen you or your host duel before. How about we have a little game?"_

_The wolf demon chuckled as his duel disk clicked into place. "Sure."_

_Yami's duel disk clicked into place and he nodded. "Let's duel!"_

Rikuo drew his five cards and smirked. "I think it would only be fair to have you make the first move, oh great pharaoh."

Yami drew his five and then his sixth. "Enough theatrics demon." He looked his hand over and smiled softly. "I hope you are a very good duelist, because my deck has just given me the necessary cards to put you in your place."

Rikuo snorted. "I hear talking, yet I see no Egyptian Gods on the field. Perhaps you should save the trash-talking until you actually have played me for a few turns."

Yami smiled and nodded. "Very well. I play Queen's Knight (1500/1300) in defense mode." A woman in a suit of knight's armor appeared on his field. "Then I activate the magic card Swords of Revealing Light." Glowing green swords of light slammed down across Rikuo's field. "Now for the next three turns you cannot attack me. End turn."

Rikuo drew his next card with a heavy heart. ("Well damn it...I was hoping to just not give him a chance to summon his Egyptian God Cards, but now I see that isn't an option.") He frowned and looked his cards over. ("Nothing that can get rid of his Swords of Revealing Light, and so far I don't see any of my combos meant to kill his God Cards.")

Daniel's voice rang inside his mind. _("We're best off playing defensively until we can get past his Swords.")_

Rikuo mentally frowned at his host. ("By then it might be too late.") "I set one card face-down on my field and summon Nightmare Machine (800/2000) in defense mode." A demonic machine that looked a little like a snack food dispenser appeared on his field. "End turn."

Yami drew and threw a cocky smile at Rikuo. "I see that you are already in trouble, hmm?"

Rikuo snarled quietly, one of his fangs bared and glinting in the light. "Make your move or pass."

Yami slapped down his next card. "As you wish. I summon King's Knight (1500/1600) in defense mode." A man in knight's armor with a blond beard appeared on his field.

Rikuo growled low in his throat. He knew what happened next.

Yami popped his deck free of his disk and looked it over. He found the monster he was searching for and played it. "Because of my King's Knight's special ability, I may special summon Jack's Knight (1900/1400) from my deck to the field." A tall man in knight's armor appeared next to the other two knights. "Take you turn demon. Just remember that next turn you will face the wrath of a god."

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From up in his chair Giovan was silently cheering Yami on. It wasn't that he liked the pharaoh at all, but nothing would be sweeter to him than to watch Rikuo be destroyed by the might of an Egyptian God Card. ("Let's see you worm your way out of this one, mutt.")

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Rikuo drew and he got a small measure of relief when he looked upon his newest card. ("Perhaps we aren't as screwed as I thought.") He inserted the card into his hand and motioned to his Nightmare Machine. "Now the ability of my machine activates. Nightmare Machine special summons one Demon Slime (1000/1000) to the field in attack mode." The jet black robot made a few screeching noises and then it spat out a blob of black and red slime that slithered over next to its creator.

("This is going to take incredible luck on our part.") Rikuo was ready to place his life in the hands of fate though. "I sacrifice my Demon Slime to summon Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) to the field in attack mode!" The armored demon samurai appeared on the field and howled to his master.

Yami watched his opponent make his moves with uncharacteristic interest. It wasn't that he wanted to lose this duel, but he always found it exciting to take on new opponents and see what their strategies were capable of. **("I wonder if he can pull this off.")**

In the back of his head Yugi mentally nodded. **_("It seems like he has some kind of plan to deal with our Egyptian God Cards.")_**

Yami didn't reply. Rikuo was about to make his next play.

Said wolf demon looked his hand over one more time to make sure he had his combo remembered correctly. A few moments passed, and then he was satisfied. "I set two cards face-down. Now bring on your God Card Yami."

Yami drew his card and slid his three knights into the graveyard. "As you wish Rikuo. I sacrifice my three monsters to summon Saint Dragon Osiris in attack mode!" The three knights faded off of the field and somewhere in the distance lightning crashed.

The only thing was that there was no Egyptian God on the field.

Rikuo glanced around warily. "So, where's the dragon?"

Yami pointed at the roof. As if on cue, the stone started to crack. "He's coming demon. Be patient."

With one thunderous roar the double-mouthed head of Yami's Egyptian God broke through the stone of the ceiling. The holographic image flew into the room, its hundreds of feet of length wrapping around the dueling field.

Rikuo flexed his claws nervously as some of the coils of the dragon wrapped around his side of the field. ("This is....")

_("Don't even bother being scared Rikuo. You knew that we would face this thing eventually.")_

Rikuo's eyes widened as he realized he was being chastised. ("SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I know that we were going to face this beast! Don't console me like I am nothing but a pup, you ass!")

He narrowed his eyes at Yami. "So pharaoh, this is the almighty Saint Dragon Osiris?" He made a point to look around at the different lengths of the dragon that draped across the field. "I'm not impressed at all."

Yami rolled his eyes at bluff. "You will be once you understand that Osiris's attack total is equal to the number of cards in my hand times 1000." He held up his hand of fanned out cards. "I have five cards in my hand." (5000/5000) Behind him, the head of Osiris roared down at the demon, its yellow eyes glowing in the dim light of the room.

Rikuo glanced at his three face-down cards, knowing they were his best hope now. "I really don't care how powerful your monster is. I'll beat it all the same."

Yami pointed at the Wolf Demon Lord. "We'll see Rikuo. Now Osiris, attack his Wolf Demon Lord with God's Lightning!" The dragon opened its massive first set of jaws wide and began to charge up a huge ball of electrical energy.

Rikuo pressed a button his duel disk right before the dragon released its torrent of energy. "I reveal Negate Attack! This will protect my field from you for this turn!" A swirling vortex appeared and barely managed to absorb all of the energy of Osiris's attack.

Yami shrugged nonchalantly to Rikuo. "A clever save, but it will only keep you from destruction for one turn."

Rikuo drew and slid his card into his duel disk. "Pot of Greed should even the score between us, don't you think Yami?" He drew two cards off the top of his deck and his eyes lit up confidently.

"Yami, are you so sure that your gods will be enough to beat me?" At his opponent's questioning look, Rikuo picked up his Nightmare Machine card and slid it into the graveyard. "Allow me to elaborate. I sacrifice my Nightmare Machine to summon Jinzo (2400/1500) to the field!" The green armored form of Daniel's favorite monster appeared on field and crossed its arms, chuckling coldly.

Yami smirked and pointed at Jinzo. "I don't know what you have planned but you've just triggered Osiris's special ability! Go Summon Lightning Impact!" The second set of jaws on Osiris's opened and a purple blast of explosive energy engulfed Jinzo. When the smoke cleared the metal monster looked like it was nearly on the verge of collapse. (400/1500) "Osiris's special ability drains your monster of 2000 points from whatever mode it is in. Luckily for you Jinzo is strong enough to withstand the attack though."

Rikuo frowned and looked at his hand. He didn't know that Osiris had a special ability like that. ("Not that it matters though. This is the only combo in my hand and if it doesn't work I am finished regardless.")

He slid a card into his duel disk. "Before I make my next move I need to set this card face-down. And now..." He slid another card into his duel disk. "I play the magic card Polymerization to fuse Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord together!" The two monsters were slammed into each other and a swirling vortex of energy appeared on Rikuo's field.

Yami pointed at the swirl. "Because fusion counts as a summon, you once again have triggered Osiris's special ability! Summon Lightning Impact!" The enormous dragon opened its second set of jaws once more and unleashed another ball of purple destructive energy.

Rikuo flipped up the card he had just set. "I'm ready for it this time Yami. Activate Guardian Shield!" A steel shield appeared in front of the vortex and absorbed the blast of Osiris's attack. "This will defend my creature from any attack. So your Summon Lightning Impact won't touch my new monster!"

The steel shield faded and the vortex was gone. In its place was the Wolf Demon Lord, though he was covered in the green armoring of Jinzo and now had a much bigger greatsword. "Meet the perfect combination of demon and machine, the Steel Wolf General." (3400/2000)

Yami didn't look afraid of the monster, but he was curious. "What's so special about your new monster?"

Rikuo sneered. "You shall see. For now though I end my turn. That means you're up pharaoh."

Yami drew and watched as Osiris's attack power increased. (6000/6000)

"You're about to lose quite a lot of life points Rikuo. God's Lightning!" Osiris charged up a torrent of energy and unleashed it at the Steel Wolf General.

Rikuo grinned and flipped up his face-down card. "It's time slay your god Yami! Go Limiter Removal!" One of his face-down cards flipped up. "This magic card doubles the attack power of all machine monsters on my field for one turn. The only downside is that they die at the end of that turn." The Steel Wolf General howled as energy rippled along its body from the magic card's effect. (6800/2000)

The Steel Wolf General charged through the lightning, emerging from it unfazed. The mechanical demon went into a high leap and came down with a slash of its sword, instantly beheading Osiris. The entirety of the Egyptian God shuddered and then exploded into digital bits of dust.

Yami- 7200

Rikuo- 8000

Yami smiled slightly. "That was a fairly impressive move Rikuo. Not many have ever defeated my Egyptian God Cards in direct battle before." He looked at the stockpile of cards in his hand. He had an empty field now that his Swords of Revealing Light had been dropped, so he was going to have to duel the old-fashioned way until he could get his hands on another one of the Egyptian God Cards in his deck. "To finish my turn I set two cards face-down and one monster in defense." The Steel Wolf General groaned weakly and exploded as the effect of Limiter Removal took its toll on the monster.

Rikuo drew and motioned to his field. "Now the special ability of my Steel Wolf General is triggered. When it is destroyed my Wolf Demon Lord returns to the field in attack mode." The ground in front of him quivered and the armored form of the demon lord sprang free of the earth.

Rikuo looked at his hand and a strange expression crossed his face. It almost looked like he was recalling something. Then he looked up at Giovan and growled loudly. "By the time I am done with you, there won't be enough of a body left for any kind of burial."

Giovan snickered and pointed to Yami. "I'd suggest you focus on the task at hand, mutt."

That brought Rikuo's attention back to the duel. "Alright Yami, I set two cards face-down and attack with my Wolf Demon Lord! Howling Sword!" The demon slammed its sword into the ground, a wave of phantom blue-white flame traveling along the ground and threatening to consume Yami's face-down monster.

The pharaoh didn't look worried though. "You're walking right into my trap. Reveal Spell-Binding Circle!" The trap card flipped up, but before it could activate it shuddered and exploded into dust. "What!?"

Rikuo held up one of his three face-down cards. "Remove Trap denies you that liberty."

Yami wasn't done yet. "If that's the way you want to play this game, then I reveal my other face-down card, Mirror Force!" A blue barrier sprang up on his field and absorbed the blast of flame. It pulsed and then unleashed a peppering spray of energy that annihilated Rikuo's Demon Lord.

The wolf demon looked at his two remaining cards and knew that he was running out of options. "End turn."

Yami drew and he smirked. "I summon Myth Speaker (200/1500) in defense mode." A man holding a golden harp appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Then I set two cards face-down. Take your turn Rikuo."

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Giovan snickered quietly as he watched Yami summon the monster that possessed the power to summon any monster from Yugi's deck every turn. ("I wonder how Rikuo will respond to facing down Obelisk the Tormentor.")

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Rikuo drew and didn't pay the weak monster that Yami had played any mind. ("I'm more concerned about his face-down card.") He threw down the monster he had drawn. "I summon Wolf Demon Soldier (1400/1200) in defense mode and I end my turn."

Yami smiled and pointed to his Myth Speaker. "I see you do not know what my monster does then?"

Rikuo glanced over at the toga wearing creature before bringing his attention back to Yami. "Should I?"

"Myth Speaker's special ability allows me to special summon any monster from deck each turn. All I have to do is not draw a card." His deck spat out a card, which he caught and slapped onto his disk. "Get ready Rikuo, because I summon Obelisk the Tormenor (4000/4000) to the field!"

The ground behind him shimmered and a huge form began to materialize. It quickly gathered up shape and formed into an enormous blue giant with red eyes. Obelisk brought his gaze down to look at Rikuo and released a huffing noise that sounded a lot like a snort of irrtation.

Rikuo growled angrily. ("Damn....that means Myth Speaker will be able to give him his other Egyptian God Card too.")

Daniel was more worried about something else though. _("Can we worry about the God Card that is already on the field!?")_

Rikuo matched glares with Obelisk. His stern expression slowly turned into a fanged smile. "Yami, don't attack if you know what is good for you."

Yami smirked and pointed at the Wolf Demon Soldier. "Obelisk, attack with God Hand Crusher!" The huge giant cocked back its fist and threw it towards the monster...

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: The war of the Egyptian Gods

Author's Notes: Sheesh, writing Egyptian God episodes are exhausting on the brain. I'll hurry and get the next installment going though.

Read and Review please.


	46. War of the Egyptian Gods

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Chapter 46: War of the Egyptian Gods

_Yami smirked and pointed at the Wolf Demon Soldier. "Obelisk, attack with God Hand Crusher!" The huge giant cocked back its fist and threw it towards the monster..._

The huge monster's fist came crashing down and like a meteor it shattered the Wolf Demon Soldier instantly.

Rikuo slid the card into his graveyard and picked up the Wolf Demon Lord from his graveyard. "I warned you Yami. Thanks to you my Wolf Demon Lord is special summoned to the field thanks to the effect of my Wolf Demon Soldier." He placed the card on his disk and the demon samurai reappeared on his field.

Yami looked relieved. "So that's why you warned me not to attack. Well if that was the biggest threat you have for me then this is just too easy of a victory. End turn."

Rikuo drew and he smiled knowingly. "I set this card face-down and attack your Myth Speaker with Wolf Demon Lord! Howling Sword!" The demon slammed its sword into the ground and the Myth Speaker was consumed by phantom flames instantly. "End turn."

Yami drew and placed his newest card in with the rest of his hand. "I hope you are ready to lose your field and most of your life points!" He grabbed a different card from his hand and slapped it onto his duel disk. "I set one monster face-down on the field and activate the effect of Obelisk the Tormentor!" The blue giant grabbed both of Yami's face-down cards and crushed them between its fists. The holographic projection next to it flickered for a moment and then showed that Obelisk's attack power was infinite.

Rikuo clenched his fists tightly as the enormous form of Obelisk the Tormentor lunged for his Wolf Demon Lord. While Yami didn't know that the Wolf Demon Lord's special ability meant that Rikuo couldn't take damage from its destruction, the wolf demon didn't feel any better. Every time his Wolf Demon Lord was sent to the graveyard he felt like he was losing a part of himself. ("This time though...")

He flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Yami...I've had enough of these Egyptian Gods and their power. Reveal Remove the Strength! This magic card removes the attack increase of your monster, putting it back at 4000 attack points!"

Yami frowned. "All you have done is save yourself from instant defeat! Obelisk continue your attack!"

Rikuo flipped up another of his cards. "And now Obelisk dies. Reveal Shrink! This magic card cuts the attack of your monster in half." Right before Obelisk's fist could connect it shrank down to half its original size. Now the Wolf Demon Lord was able to withstand the blow. (2000/4000)

Yami bit his lower lip. ("That means that Obelisk....")

Rikuo pointed at the blue giant. "Wolf Demon Lord! Howling Sword!" The demon leapt forward and counter-attacked, slashing the weakened Obelisk the Tormentor down in one slash.

Rikuo- 8000

Yami- 6800

Yami could feel the sweat beginning to develop on his face now. Rikuo had just beaten two of his Egyptian God Cards. ("All that is left is Ra.") "End turn."

Rikuo drew and sneered. "Ready to continue your downward spiral to defeat pharaoh? I summon another Wolf Demon Soldier (1400/1200) in attack mode. Attack!"

Yami flipped up his face-down card. "Reveal the trap card Tribal Restriction! This allows me to call one monster type and all creatures of that type on your field cannot attack this turn! I call demon!"

The two advancing monsters stopped in their tracks and went over to their field again.

Rikuo growled. "Alright wise-ass, let's see you turn this around on me in your next turn."

Yami drew and he smiled wistfully. "It's time to summon an old friend to the field! I activate the magic card Instant Summon! This allows me to immediately summon one normal monster from my hand to the field." He slapped his monster onto his disk. "I summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode!" The purple robed spellcaster that was Yugi's favorite monster appeared on field. "Now Dark Magic Attack!" The Magician snapped up his staff and unleashed a blast of inverted light at Rikuo's field.

Rikuo braced himself as the Wolf Demon Soldier was destroyed instantly by the blast.

Rikuo- 6700

Yami- 6800

Yami nodded to Rikuo. "Your move."

Rikuo drew and his eyes widened. "Let's get ready for a fun stand-off Yami. First I flip up my face-down magic card Abyssal Designator. By paying 1000 life points I may call any combination of type and attribute. You must then search your deck and hand for one copy of a monster that matches that combo and discard it to the graveyard. I call divine beast and divine."

Rikuo- 5700

Yami- 6800

Yugi frowned. There was only one monster in his deck at the moment that fit that combo. He pulled his deck free and discarded the Winged Dragon of Ra into his graveyard.

Rikuo slid the card he had drawn into his duel disk. "Now for the magic card Battle of Magicians! This magic card forces both of us to discard our hands and magic/trap cards on the field. Then we both draw five cards off the top of our deck. We play and set all magic and trap cards amongst those cards that we can, while the rest get sent straight to the graveyard." He drew his five and slid three of the drawn cards into his graveyard. Then he set one face-down on his field and the other face-up. "I equip Wolf Demon Lord with Phantom Blade, which raises its attack power by 800 points." (3200/1000)

Yami drew his five and slid two into the graveyard. "I set two cards face-down and play the magic card Magical Silk Hats!" A black top hat appeared on the field and fell over the Dark Magician. Then the hat turned into four hats. "That's not all though, because I will conceal my two face-down cards underneath my Magical Silk Hats." The hats spun in a circle over his magic and trap card, swallowing up the two cards and then returning to his field.

Rikuo knew the drill with the Magical Silk Hats already. "Wolf Demon Lord! Attack the second to the left hat! Howling Sword!" The samurai demon howled and slammed its blade into the ground, the wave of phantom flame consuming the hat. As the smoke from the blast cleared it showed that the hat had been empty. "Damn....end turn."

Yami drew and he smiled. "I will conceal another card within one of my Magical Silk Hats. End turn."

Rikuo drew and smiled right back at his opponents. "I play the magic card Big Bang Shot, which raises my monster's attack power by 400 points and gives it the power to deal damage through defenses." (3600/1000)

Yami knew how much trouble that would pose. If Rikuo hit his last remaining empty hat then Yami would lose 3600 life points.

The wolf demon scratched his chin with a claw and then pointed over at the right hat. "Howling Sword!" The samurai demon slammed its sword into the ground and sent a wave of red-tinged phantom fire careening towards the silk hat. It slammed into it and sprayed smoke and flame all over the field.

Yami smiled. "You hit the hat that I concealed my single trap within. That is going to cost you. The trap was Magic Cylinders, meaning that you take your monster's attack points in damage to your life points."

Rikuo clenched his fists angrily. "Damn it...."

Rikuo- 2100

Yami- 6800

Yami drew and he that smirk of his appeared. "Now I think it would be best to end my turn."

Rikuo drew and he sneered. "I'm ready for your traps now pharaoh. Wolf Demon Lord, attack the hat on the left! Howling Sword!" The wolf demon slammed its sword into the ground and released another wave that hit and consumed the hat.

Yami paled as his last Magical Silk Hat faded, leaving his Dark Magician and his two face-down cards revealed.

Rikuo- 2100

Yami- 3200

Rikuo snickered and slid the card he was holding into his duel disk. "End turn."

Yami drew and he smiled at his opponent. "I hope your face-down cards negate attacks, because otherwise this duel is about to end.

Rikuo snorted. "Take a look at my monster Yugi. I can blow you away with ease."

Yugi slapped down his new card onto his disk. "Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode!" He slid the card he was holding into his disk. "Now I activate the magic card Rainbow Arch! By sacrificing my Kuriboh, I can allow one monster to attack your life points directly this turn!" The little brown furball turned Technicolor and flew in an arc over the field between Rikuo and Yami, leaving a rainbow arch behind it. When it hit the other end of the field it exploded into dust, but in Rikuo's eyes the damage was already done. There was perfect bridge of rainbow light that led right to him from Yami's monster field.

Yami smiled to his opponent. "You are a good duelist Rikuo, but sometimes even the smallest creature can make the difference. Yes you can defeat my Egyptian God Cards, but can you defeat my Kuriboh?"

He left the rhetorical question in the air and he pointed at the wolf demon. "Dark Magician, attack his life points directly!" The purple-robed spellcaster launched up the bridge and then came down right in front of Rikuo. It lifted its staff and all Rikuo could see was flashes of black and white. Right before he was over-taken by the blast he pressed a button on his duel disk.

A card on his field flipped up and a metal ring attached to the Wolf Demon Lord. Surrounding the ring were grenades.

Yami's eyes went wide. "He had a Ring of Destruction face-down? Oh no!"

There was an echoing click and then the entire field went up in one huge explosion.

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Giovan just sat in his seat patiently, waiting for the smoke to clear so that he could see the life point totals. Whose card went off first? Did Yami's Dark Magician take Rikuo out, or did the Ring of Destruction eliminate them both?

Finally the smoke cleared to show the life point score....

_To be continued..._

Next chapter: A darkness game with a twist

Author's Notes: Hello there everyone! I know this is an abrupt ending to this chapter, but I wanted to leave this one at a vote. What do think the result should be? Should Yugi move on to duel Giovan alone or should the duel be a draw?

A third option actually exists too, because what if Rikuo's second face-down card was a Curse of Pain or Barrel Behind the Door? That would mean that Rikuo would have won that duel.

Well anyway, cast your votes in your review.

To Gryphin/Chip: On the thing with Deondre and the Lord of Dimensions, it is because in my version of the story you just need the magic card to summon the ritual monster. It makes rituals more playable and in my opinion cooler anyway.


	47. A Darkness Game with a twist

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh

Chapter 47: A Darkness Game with a twist

_Giovan just sat in his seat patiently, waiting for the smoke to clear so that he could see the life point totals. Whose card went off first? Did Yami's Dark Magician take Rikuo out, or did the Ring of Destruction eliminate them both?_

_Finally the smoke cleared to show the life point score..._

Yami- 0

Rikuo- 0

Giovan scratched his chin in thought while the two duelists slowly came back to their feet. ("I could use this to my advantage if I play my cards right, so to speak.")

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Rikuo glanced at the life point totals on the scoreboard and he groaned. He yelled over the smoke to Yami. "Looks like we are going to have to duel again pharaoh. This duel doesn't count."

"On the contrary," Giovan said. "This duel counted. Both of you lost. Therefore I will have to change the rules of the duel against me a little." ("With the changes being to my advantage of course.")

Yami cleared the ringing in his head and looked up at Giovan. "And what changes would that be?"

The black-suited business man emotionlessly looked down at Joey and CJ. "I suggest you get off this island. There is a helicopter waiting for you on the roof."

Joey frowned and shook his head. "No chance suit-boy. I'm staying here to cheer on Yugi."

CJ nodded. "Ditto for me. Daniel's my buddy and I'm not leaving him to duel alone."

Rikuo knew what Sestros had in mind for this duel, and he didn't want anyone to be hurt when it happened. ("Daniel, tell them to go. If they stay then Sestros will use them as weapons against us.") He felt Daniel's consciousness slide to the fore-front of their mind and his voice said, "CJ, please get Rebecca and Amy off the island. I don't want them to get hurt."

CJ clenched his fists, but he knew that he couldn't leave Rebecca and Amy alone in this place. ".......Alright....I'll go. But if you die......" He left the threat unspoken and carried Deondre out.

Joey looked at CJ and then hefted up the still-unconscious Kaiba. "I'll make sure that he stays out of trouble. Good luck Yug." And just like that the ancient beings were left to themselves.

Giovan turned and walked to the end of his balcony. He pressed a button and an elevator door opened in the wall. "This is no place to finish our battle. Follow me." He stepped into the elevator and it closed. In the middle of the dueling arena an elevator rose up and slid open its doors.

Rikuo looked to Yami and nodded slightly. "I should warn you that Sestros possesses incredible magical powers. In fact, where-ever we are going is most likely going to be somewhere that fits his insane tastes. Prepare yourself and your stomach for whatever we are going to see."

Yami didn't look worried. "I'm not afraid of him. Are you?"

Rikuo stepped into the elevator and nodded. "If you want to know the truth pharaoh, I'd be a fool not to be afraid of him."

Yami joined him in the elevator, and as it slid back into the ring, the two spirits were cast into hell.

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As the elevator door slid open, the first thing that greeted both duelists was darkness. There were no lights at all. Rikuo stepped in first, the golden-amber orbs of his eyes the only light source they had. Yami placed his hand on the demon's shoulder and used him as a guide. They were walking at a slope going down, which meant that they were headed somewhere deep underground. Minutes later, they ran into a large steel door. Wreathed in blue-white flames, the door depicted the image of a warrior standing with an enormous sword over one shoulder. The etchings of the blade itself were lined with gold and silver inlays.

"What does this mean?" Yami asked the question expressionlessly. He knew something was at work here, because he could feel the emanations of magic from this place. "This place...it feels like a burial ground."

Rikuo scowled angrily. Now he knew what Sestros had been after all of this time. He was after the power of the demon lords and their weapons. "It is a burial ground. My burial ground." The door opened and the two entered.

Waiting for them inside was a place of reverence, where fearsome depictions of demons were etched onto the smooth stone walls. At the far end of the chamber was a pedestal, and on top of it was the thing that Rikuo had always hoped to see again. His sword....

The weapon had its tip embedded in the earth, and it was rusted slightly, but Rikuo knew the intricate inlays of silver that could only be part of his blade. ("So the howling sword never was destroyed hmm?") Rikuo stored that bit of information in the back of his mind. He would be sure to get the weapon back after he utterly wiped out Sestros.

The room began to fade away, the stone of the walls getting less and less substantial. Finally the effect stopped and the first thing to greet Yami and Rikuo's ears was the sound of a pipe organ playing a hollow and depressing song. As there eyes adjusted to being put back into darkness again, they saw that in fact there was a pipe organ in the new room.

It was made entirely of flesh and bone, with different parts of creature's bodies used to adjust how the sounds came out. In Rikuo's mind that fact alone made him think of Sestros. ("It would serve his sick tastes alright.") He frowned and expected Sestros himself to be playing the organ. He was surprised to find a skeleton sitting in the seat, its bony fingers playing over the sickly keys with the ease of a master.

The room they had been brought to reminded Rikuo far too much of Sestro's old chamber. In fact, it was an exact replica of the place. Different torture devices lined the dark room, some of which seemed to have been recently used.

And standing at the end of grisly royal chamber was the monster behind it all. Giovan bowed to his two guests, a smile of perverse pleasure upon his face. "Welcome Rikuo. Welcome Pharaoh. Welcome to my little royal chamber. I hope the décor suits your tastes, because it certainly suits mine." His laughter echoed off of the walls and sent shivers down the spines of the two 'guests'.

Rikuo hid his building fear beneath a shroud of indifference. "So Sestros, I see that your plan was to try and gain the power of the Demon Lords through collecting their weapons. Did you really expect to be able to just walk up and take them from their resting places?"

Giovan waved a finger in the air. "You misunderstand my plan Rikuo. I want the weapons, but first I must collect the souls of the twelve demon lords. The soul of the Dragon Lord rests in my possession, and as soon as I destroy you then I will have the soul of the Wolf Lord as well."

Rikuo's duel disk clicked into place. "I've had my fill of you Sestros. In the name of all those who you have killed, I will banish your dark soul off of this plane. If you die here, then you will not be reborn as anything, because you will cease to exist."

Giovan nodded, his silver and black duel disk clicking into place. "Fair enough Rikuo."

"So what exactly do I have to do with your sick plot?" Yami decided that he had been silent long enough.

Giovan sneered. "I am after all forms of power Pharaoh. The Egyptian God Cards are just another form of great power for me to command. On that note, remove your God Cards from your disk. Their Egyptian magic will not respond well to this place."

Yami frowned but complied, and then his duel disk clicked into place. "Alright, let's get this duel underway."

Giovan held up a hand to signal a momentary pause. "Before we begin, let me establish the rules of this game. Since it will be a two on one duel, I will draw two cards each turn and I will be allowed two summons. Because technically you both lost, as an added handicap I will have 16000 life points as well. Are we agreed?"

Rikuo and Yami nodded. They didn't like the idea of Giovan being at an advantage, but they knew they would still win in the end.

Giovan's dark smile showed his fangs this time. His eyes had turned crimson red. "Then let the darkness game begin!" The air around them shifted and warped into a black and purple sphere as the contract was sealed. The duel for the power of the Egyptian God Cards and the soul of the Wolf Lord began.

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CJ barreled right past a trio of Emissaries, using his size advantage over them to immediately send all of the robed men flying out of his way. He was almost to the room where Rebecca and Amy were. Apparently Giovan had changed his mind on letting them go, because the entire complex was after him now. Deondre had already awakened, and after a quick fill in on what was going on the two duelists were on their way for their rooms. They needed to get the girls and their stuff too. Joey had separated from them because his room was on a different floor, though he had promised to meet them on the roof of the castle. ("Let's just hope he keeps his promise.")

The sound of a gun firing a bullet and then said bullet whizzing past his cheek blew all thought from CJ's mind. "Sorry boys, but the boss says you are sticking around. Now raise your hands up and turn around slowly, or else the next shot will be right between your eyes."

CJ grimaced and did as he was told, lifting his hands up and turning. ("Looks like we won't be leaving anytime soon.")

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Giovan smirked and drew his five cards. Then his now-clawed hand flashed over his deck and he placed his two new cards into it. "Are you ready to feel the cold touch of my Torture Machines Rikuo?"

Rikuo nodded resolutely to Yami. This was going to have to be a team effort or else they didn't stand a chance. "Do your worst Sestros. It won't be enough this time."

Yami returned the nod to his partner. "With our combined teamwork you will be defeated."

Giovan snorted and slapped two cards face-down onto his disk. "That's very wishful thinking boys. Unfortunately my two face-down monster cards disagree with your little optimistic statement. I am also going to set four cards face-down. Now take your turn Yami."

Yami drew his card and he smirked. "With a hand like this I won't need the Egyptian God Cards to win this duel. I set one monster face-down and two cards face-down. You're up Rikuo."

The wolf demon drew and understood the general plan in this duel. He would most likely be focusing on attack, while Yami played on the defense for him. "I set a monster in defense mode and two cards face-down." He was in no hurry to run face-first into one of Sestros' little Torture Machines or trap cards. The last time he tried that he had lost. "End turn."

Giovan drew his two and placed both of his newly drawn cards into his graveyard. "Rikuo, your physical avatar is the Wolf Demon Lord, so don't you think it would only be fair if I had one too?"

Rikuo snickered. "I don't think they'd make a card of a creature that ugly Sestros."

Giovan's face twisted in rage. "Just for that I'm going to take you out first. I have already sacrificed the necessary monster cards from my hand, so it is time to play this last card I am holding." He slid it into his disk. "Activate Anointment of Torture! This allows me summon forth my physical avatar and the ultimate weapon of my deck."

In the middle of the field a spiked cage exploded out of the ground. Within it was a shadowed figure that was glaring at the two duelists with its crimson eyes. The cage clicked open and the monster stepped out onto the field. It was wearing chains that wrapped around its body like armor, and in its hand it held a spiked whip. "Say hello to the Torture King (2800/3000) in attack mode!" The creature began to laugh insanely, the torture devices in the room creaking and squealing in response to it.

Rikuo shivered involuntarily. He knew too well what it was like to be in so many of those machines. "You think I'm impressed? It may be powerful, but have you forgotten that we are protected?"

Yami added to that, trying to reinforce his own confidence. "Exactly. You cannot attack either of us directly, and if you do decide to attack then you are a bigger fool than I originally thought Garlin."

Giovan didn't seem to listen. "Attack Rikuo's face-down monster!" The creature cackled insanely and snapped its whip across the field, instantly crushing the face-down monster.

Rikuo held up his card and snickered. "You need your hearing fixed old man. You've just attacked my Wolf Demon Soldier. (1400/1200) When it is destroyed in battle I may special summon a Wolf Demon Lord from my deck, hand or graveyard to the field." A card was shot out of his deck and he caught it. He glanced at it to make sure it was correct, and then he slapped it down on his disk. "Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) would like to thank you personally for getting him onto the field." The samurai demon appeared and growled at the Torture King.

Giovan shrugged and pointed to Yami. "End turn."

Yami drew and his smile said that he was ready to get started. "I sacrifice my face-down monster card to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in attack mode!" A female version of the Dark Magician appeared. "Now I end my turn."

Rikuo drew and he thanked whatever god had promised that Jinzo would always be around for Daniel. "I hope your Torture King was worth getting onto the field Sestros, because he is about to leave! I play the magic card Polymerization and I will fuse Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord to create the mighty Steel Wolf General!" (3400/2000)

Giovan flipped up one of his face-down cards. "By now I think that you would have learned Rikuo. Activate Fusion Cancel! As long as this continuous trap card remains on the field you will be unable to fuse anything or create any kind of union between monsters."

Rikuo frowned as his Polymerization was sent to the graveyard. ("Looks like I have no choice.") "You want to play hardball Sestros? Then let's play! I sacrifice Wolf Demon Lord to...."

Giovan flipped up another face-down card. "Do I look stupid to you!? Reveal Mask of Restrict! As long as this continuous trap card remains on the field neither of you can sacrifice your monsters in any way, shape, or form!"

Rikuo stared at his hand and sighed. "End turn."

Giovan drew his two cards and laughed. "I see you are starting to feel the despair of this situation? I play the magic card Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck." He drew his two cards and nodded to himself. "Now I summon two monsters in face-down defense mode. End turn."

Yami looked at Giovan's field with eyes wide. ("He almost already has a full field of cards.") He drew and threw Rikuo a look. Hopefully the wolf demon had caught it, because if this plan didn't work then they were in trouble. "I summon Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode and set one card face-down. I hope your draw is better than mine Rikuo."

Rikuo drew and a wisp of a smile appeared on his face. "That it is. I play the continuous magic card Spell Economics. As long as this card remains face-up on the field neither I nor Yami have to pay life points for any magic card. End turn."

Giovan drew his two and took one of the face-down monsters off of his disk, sliding it into his graveyard. "I sacrifice my face-down monster to summon King Shadow Jam (2000/2000) in defense mode." A huge blob of black slime appeared on his field. Atop its head was a golden crown.

Rikuo rolled his eyes tiredly. "These things? Didn't you learn from when Daniel defeated Hawk?"

Giovan flipped up another of his face-down cards. "I reveal the continuous trap card Provocation. Now you must attack my King Shadow Jam every turn will all of your monsters in attack mode. Trust me Rikuo, my strategy is light years beyond the foolish strategy that Hawk had." He slid a card into the last slot on his duel disk. "Now I play this card face-down and end my turn."

Yami drew and watched as his Dark Magician Girl lifted her staff and fired a blast of magic energy at the King Shadow Jam. He already knew that nothing was going to happen though. Both monsters had equal attack and defense totals, meaning that neither was going to be affected by the attack.

That wasn't the case this time though. The King Shadow Jam did something completely unexpected. It dodged the attack, hurled itself onto Yami's field, and ate his Dark Magician Girl.

Yami stared in horror as he watched the Dark Magician Girl dissolve from within the black blob's mass. The worst part of all of it was that she didn't explode or fade like a hologram was supposed to. He watched as her flesh instantly decayed and withered away, leaving nothing but some random bones floating in the monster's mass.

The King Shadow Jam slithered back over to Giovan's field, its attack score jumping up by the attack of the monster that it had just absorbed. (4000/3700)

Giovan sneered at the still horror-stricken pharaoh. "Understand now? King Shadow Jam's special ability means that every time it battles a monster and is not destroyed, it absorbs that monster and gains that creature's stats to its own." He looked over at Rikuo. "That means that your Wolf Demon Lord is next on the menu, mutt."

Yami looked over at Rikuo with something of a pleading glance. "I will defeat your monster Garlin. Just watch and see. End turn."

Rikuo drew and watched as his Wolf Demon Lord slammed its sword into the ground, releasing a blast of blue-white flame that traveled along the ground to hit the King Shadow Jam.

Giovan burst into laughter as he watched the King Shadow Jam get ready to absorb the attack and then eat the mutt's favorite monster. ("I love crushing the hopes of others. It's just too much fun.")

Right before the attack hit though Rikuo flipped one of his face-down cards. "Sorry Sestros but I play Remove the Strength! This quickplay magic card removes all strength increases from your monster for this turn, meaning it is back where it started!"

Giovan's eyes went wide surprise as his King Shadow Jam shrank down in size. (2000/2000) It managed to let out one weak gurgle before the Howling Sword blast destroyed it. Giovan somehow managed to conceal his anger beneath a veil of indifference as he slid his Provocation trap card into his graveyard as well. "Nice little save mutt, but I still will annihilate you when all is said and done."

Rikuo threw a thumbs-up to Yugi and slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I play Opponent Reborn! This magic card allows me to resurrect one monster from any player's graveyard to their field in the mode of my choice, so I revive Yami's Dark Magician Girl in attack mode!"

Yami smirked at Rikuo. "I owe you one demon."

Rikuo puffed his chest a little at the unspoken compliment. "Keh!"

Giovan's angry growl brought their attention back to the duel. "Are you two done yet?"

Rikuo nodded to Giovan. "Go ahead Sestros, make your next play."

Giovan drew his two cards and he sneered. "Rikuo, remember when we first met?"

The wolf demon visibly flinched at this. Now Sestros was digging into memories that the ex-general didn't want to see or remember. "I'm warning you..."

Giovan continued to talk unabated. "You were such a cute child. I was surprised that a great wolf demon such as your father could spawn such an innocent little pup. Of course without your help I would never have been able to kill him either. You remember that fateful day, don't you Rikuo?"

Rikuo trembled in a mix of rage and fear, his memories beginning to surface. "SHUT UP!!"

Yami watched the exchange with pure rage in his eyes. "What's the purpose of this Garlin!?"

Giovan slid a card from his hand into his duel disk slot where the Provocation trap had been earlier. "I just thought a little background would be good for my next ritual magic card. Activate Feral Blood Altar!" A small altar appeared next to him with a golden bowl in the middle of it. He held one wrist over it and with his other hand he slashed a small cut in said wrist. Blood dripped into the bowl for a few seconds, and then the altar disappeared. Giovan's cut instantly disappeared. "By sacrificing 2000 life points, I may summon forth a monster that I think Rikuo will recognize all too well."

Yami- 8000

Rikuo- 8000

Giovan- 14000

The ground shook and an enormous form crashed to the ground from the air. It was a giant wolf. The creature stood about 40' at the shoulder, was covered completely in raven black fur and its crimson red eyes shimmered with anger down at Yami and Rikuo. It looked down upon the two duelists in front of it and howled, the sound shaking the entire room. "Allow me to introduce Wolf Demon King (3000/1700) in attack mode!"

Yami looked over at Rikuo. "What is that...." His words froze in his throat. He was seeing something that should have been impossible. It didn't seem like Rikuo would be capable of it.

Tears dripping down his cheeks, Rikuo stared at the Wolf Demon King with eyes shining in sadness. "Father...." He was gone, his mind withdrawing into itself at the sight of his dead father, back from the grave...

Giovan looked over at the now unreachable Rikuo and chuckled darkly. "I guess we'll just have to cut him out of the duel until he comes back to himself. That means it's just you and me Pharaoh."

Yami face was filled with disgust and hatred for this evil beast in front of him. "You did that just to get him out of the duel!? You would dare to subject someone to such memories!?" The eye of Ra upon his head was glowing brightly now, and his magical energies were pulsing like a living thing. "GARLIN! I've had enough of you and your sick games!"

Giovan snickered and pointed at Yami. "Then just try and stop me Pharaoh. Wolf Demon King, attack his Dark Magician Girl now! Lunar Flame Blast!" The giant wolf opened its jaws wide and charged up a glowing ball of ghostly flame. It aimed its muzzle at the Dark Magician Girl and fired, the blast tearing across the ground as it prepared to consume Yami's monster....

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: A Grim Reminder

Author's Notes: I hope I am doing this alright. The duel isn't too hard to keep up with is it? If it is then please let me know in your review so I can fix that. This is where the duel really picks up, because Rikuo has been effectively disabled thanks to Giovan. Anyway, please review and let me know how I am doing so far with this duel and story arc. Thank much, bye.

To Victor: Keep in mind the situation in Chapter 31 with CJ and the sudden complete recovery from Cyclone's attack. I don't do stuff like that randomly. Look at the fact that Deondre suddenly had six cards in his deck that he never knew about. Trust me, magic is at work with those two.....it's just not a big part of this arc of the story.

TheChazMan: Sorry about the whole Ra thing. In all honesty I was tired and I actually had the magic card Abyssal Designator sitting in a pile of cards next to my desk. I looked at it and went, "Wow...anti-god card..." Then divine inspiration took its course.


	48. A Grim Reminder

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 48: A Grim Reminder

_Rikuo giggled as he watched his father slash through the boulder in front of him effortlessly. "That's great dad!" If there was one thing he loved more than any other thing in the world, it was his father. Nobody else had a cooler dad than him...nobody!_

_Entirius Amero smiled down at his son and tussled the pup's hair and ears gently. "I think you are one of my biggest fans boy." He looked at the sword he was holding and smiled. He flipped it up and caught the end of the blade, extending the hilt to his son. "Would you like to give it a try?"_

_Rikuo stared at the sword in an awe-stricken way that only a child could accomplish. His hand gently grasped the hilt and the weapon exploded into phantom flames. Rikuo jumped back with a yelp of surprise._

_Entirius chuckled and still held the weapon out. "It won't hurt you. You trust me right?"_

_Of course Rikuo trusted his dad! Fear gone he grabbed the hilt of the blade with both hands._

_Entirius let go of the end of the blade and watched proudly as the sword identified Rikuo's blood and made itself nearly weightless for its new user. The blade was very intelligent, and somehow could always accommodate itself for whoever was using it, as long as they were of the Amero royal family. If they weren't though then the blade would most likely burn their hand off. "See, it won't hurt you."_

_Rikuo was only half listening to his father. His attention was more on the sword in front of him and flames that licked along its length. It was the pup's desire that one day he could become as great of a warrior as his father, if that was even possible. _

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_Giovan snickered and pointed at Yami. "Then just try and stop me Pharaoh. Wolf Demon King, attack his Dark Magician Girl now! Lunar Flame Blast!" The giant wolf opened its jaws wide and charged up a glowing ball of ghostly flame. It aimed its muzzle at the Dark Magician Girl and fired, the blast tearing across the ground as it prepared to consume Yami's monster..._

Yami flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Just because you've disabled Rikuo doesn't mean that I am out yet. Activate Magic Cylinders!" A pair of cups appeared on the field and one of them absorbed the blast from the Wolf Demon King's attack. "This will reflect your attack right back at your life points!" The other cup shuddered and then spat out the blast of energy, with the target for it now being Giovan.

Giovan snickered and flipped up his face-down card. "Sorry Pharaoh, but I'm ready for your pitiful attempts to ward off my attacks! Activate Barrel Behind the Door! This will reflect your Cylinder's effect right back at you!" A golden gun appeared on his field and fired off a blast of light that caught the flaming stream in mid-flight and threw it right back at Yami, the blast colliding with the ancient Egyptian ruler and sending him careening backwards.

Rikuo- 8000

Yami- 5000

Giovan- 14000

The demon king pointed at the Dark Magician Girl. "Torture King attack!" The chained demon cackled insanely and cracked its whip, the spiked end of the weapon piercing the spellcaster's heart. Her eyes snapped open wide and she somehow managed to look at Yami sorrowfully, right before those blue orbs clouded over and she collapsed dead in front of him.

Rikuo- 8000

Yami- 4200

Giovan- 14000

Yami stared at the corpse of his monster, feeling sick to his stomach. "Why isn't she leaving play?"

Giovan sniggered. "Aw...is the Pharaoh afraid of death? Don't you understand that this battle is real, and so are the monsters. That means you'll just have to play knowing that every creature I kill truly feels the pain of death before they die. And then you get to sit there alongside their corpse. So bring on your monsters Yami! Let's see just how high the body count can get!!"

Yami drew a card from his deck, hands trembling. This entire duel was crashing down on him. Without Rikuo's help he was trapped in a duel with an opponent who had nothing but advantages. ("I must believe in myself and my deck. We can win this as long as I don't let his mind games get to me.") He slid a card from his hand into his duel disk. "I play the magic card Multiply! This will change my single Kuriboh into five!" The little brown furball shuddered and then split into five of itself. "Now I set two cards face-down. End turn."

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_Rikuo yawned and slid out of his bed. He trudged out of his room and went down to the kitchen to get a drink of water. On his way back though he heard a loud thudding noise from inside his father's room. Then he could hear voices. One of them was his father, but he wasn't sure who the other voice belonged to. Edging closer to the door he poked his head in quietly......_

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Giovan drew his two cards and slid them into his duel disk. "I set these face-down. Now to squash the little bugs you lined up for me. Wolf Demon King attack!" The wolf monster howled and leapt across the field, biting down on one of the Kuribohs. The little fiend screeched in pain frantically, and then Yami heard the click of the wolf's teeth closing. The monster opened its muzzle and dropped the mangled remains of the Kuriboh right at the pharaoh's feet.

Giovan sneered at the exquisite sight of Yami turning a slight shade of green. "Your turn Torture King! Attack!" The monster cackled and ran over one of the Kuriboh, grasping the furry little creature with his claws.

Yami looked away as he heard a sickening crack. He couldn't ignore it though when the Torture King tossed the Kuriboh corpse into his arms. On reflex he looked down and immediately regretted the action. The Torture King had driven its claws into the Kuriboh, piercing it like a pincushion.

As he stared into the creature's now dead eyes he felt tears begin to develop. He knew that Yugi's emotions on all of this were starting to affect him. Or maybe the tears were his...

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_Entirius growled deeply as he raised his sword to point at the demon that had broken into his room. If it wasn't for the fact that the assassin had tripped on one of Rikuo's toys then Entirius would be dead right now. ("I'm getting too soft...")_

_The cloaked figure chuckled and bowed slightly. "Greetings King Entirius Amero. I had been hoping to kill you in your sleep, but I see now I will have to destroy you in battle."_

_Entirius snorted and his sword lit up with its phantom flames. "Don't you go and bullshit me. If you are strong enough to defeat me in battle then you would have challenged me instead of trying to kill me in my sleep, coward."_

_The cloaked figure laughed sharply and drew a sword from the folds of his cloak. "True enough. I know I will be able to match you at least. Supposedly your brother is just as good of a swordsman as you are, correct?"_

_Entirius narrowed his eyes, ready in case the assassin was trying to distract him. "What of it?"_

_The figure snorted. "Well, if I am correct he was protecting your wife while she was on her way back from one of the other kingdoms, right?" He didn't get any response except a low growl from Entirius. He reached into the folds of his cloak and extracted a pair of burlap sacs. He tossed them to the bed nonchalantly and slashed the end of his sword across them. The cloth fell away..._

_Entirius's eyes opened in rage at what he saw. He howled and with the speed of thought he was upon his opponent, their swords crashing into each other and sending thunderous explosions of sound around the room as they battled..._

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Wiping the tears from his eyes, Yami gently placed the corpse of the Kuriboh off to the side and drew. "I will not let your mind games defeat me Garlin!" He slid a card into his duel disk. "Go Monster Reborn! Revive my Dark Magician Girl from the graveyard!" There was a flash of golden light and the corpse of the Magician Girl was standing on her feet, alive again. She glanced back fearfully at Yami for reassurance. She, like all of his monsters, trusted him completely. That didn't mean that she wanted to die again though.

The Pharaoh nodded to her. "Don't worry, this time you'll get your revenge on his king."

Giovan rolled his eyes. "Take a look at the field Yami. I'm more than well defended enough to survive whatever your monster can manage against me."

Yami slid another card into his disk. "Now I activate my face-down Sage's Stone! This will special summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my deck to the field!" There was a flash of light and the purple-robed form of the Dark Magician appeared on the field next to his female counterpart. "Now I reveal the magic card Dark Magic Attack! This magic card can only be used with a Dark Magician on the field. It will destroy all of your magic and trap cards in play! Go Dark Magician!" The mage aimed his staff at Giovan's field and unleashed a pulsing black of inverted energy.

The blast struck and Giovan growled angrily as his anti-summon lock and his two traps were destroyed. He pulled the cards free of his disk and slid all of them into his graveyard. "I'm not beaten yet. Or have you forgotten that I still have the most powerful monsters on the field?"

Yami flipped his next face-down card. "I haven't forgotten at all Garlin. That's why I played Mage Power face-down until now. It raises the attack strength of my Dark Magician by 500 points for every card that I have in my magic and trap zone!" (3500/3100) His voice burning with fury, Yami pointed at the Torture King. "Go Dark Magician! Dark Magic ATTACK!" The Magician snapped its palm up and released a wave of inverted light that blasted the chained demon apart.

Rikuo- 8000

Yami- 4200

Giovan- 13200

Yami crossed his arms across his chest as the charred corpse of the Torture King crashed down next to Giovan. "Now you know what it feels like. End turn."

Giovan's eyes were alight with something that was beyond rage. "You.....you.....DARE TO CHALLENGE THE TORTURE KING!?!?" His voice carried a darker tone to it as his demonic aura started to pulse around him.

Yami glared into those eyes, not in any way afraid. "I do. What are you going to do about it?"

Giovan drew his two cards and sneered coldly. "I'm going to make you suffer, that is what I am going to do. Prepare yourself Pharaoh! I play.....

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_Entirius had the assassin now. His sword was inches from cutting down the murdering bastard, when he heard the door creak. His attention snapped over to the door to his room to make sure that there wasn't another assassin about to attack him._

_Kilomet didn't argue with good fortune. When his opponent's eyes glanced away, he took that split second to press the button on the hilt of his sword. The spring in the hilt went off and the blade was launched upwards at the wolf demon king._

_Entirius met eyes with his son. "Rikuo, look..." His voice turned into a gurgle as the launched blade pierced his ribs and his lung. He weakly looked back at his opponent, just in time to see the curved knife go into its arc for his neck._

_Rikuo had seen his father fighting and curiosity had brought him into the room farther. He wanted to see what exactly had made his father so angry. The behind him had creaked and he had met eyes with his father. "Rikuo, look..." The blood that spilled out of his father's throat brought his eyes wide._

_Kilomet had the foolish king now. Lazily he snapped his knife into an arc and removed Entirius's head from his shoulders. As the corpse slumped to the ground in front of him he looked over at the doorway to see what had saved him. He was pleasantly surprised to see a wide-eyed child had been his rescuer. "I bet you are Rikuo, hmm?" He kicked the corpse in front of him a couple of times. "Just remember that it was your fault that he died, brat." Kilomet sneered as the child's eyes still didn't seem to register what had happened. ("I love seeing pain...especially in those who don't understand it yet.")_

_His hand reached down to grab the Howling Sword, but it burned him instantly. He snatched his hand back and growled at the weapon. ("Probably only responds to members of the blood...") He stopped in mid-thought and his crimson eyes went over to Rikuo, who was still staring in shock where his eyes had met his father's. "How lucky I am that there just happens to be someone of the bloodline in front of me necessary to wield the sword. Come on brat, you're about to become a weapon." Kilomet's hand reached down and grabbed Rikuo by the scruff of the neck..._

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...the magic card Gathering of the Torturous!" Giovan slid the card into his duel disk and forms of Giovan's other Torture Machine monsters appeared on the field. The three metal creatures exploded into pieces as Giovan slid his next card into the duel disk. "Now I activate Polymerization to combine them together with the corpse of my Torture King!" The parts of steel gathered on the corpse and slowly the corpse came back to its feet.

The new monster looked like the Torture King, except that its body was now covered completely in all sorts of pain-inflicting instruments. "Pharaoh! Pay your respects to the Torture King Reborn (3600/3600) in attack mode!"

Yami took a step back from horrendous creature as it lunged across the field for his Dark Magician. It drove the point of a drill straight into the purple-robed Magician and dropped him, dead at his master's feet. ("No.....")

Rikuo- 8000

Yami- 4100

Giovan- 13200

"Now Wolf Demon King, Lunar Flame Blast!" The explosion of the flame thankfully at least left no corpse of the Dark Magician Girl behind. Then again, the smell of burnt hair and flesh was in a way even worse.

Rikuo- 8000

Yami- 3100

Giovan- 13200

Giovan chuckled darkly and motioned to his opponent. "That leaves you with a face-down card and a trio of furballs that I will enjoy ripping to pieces!"

Yami drew and his eyes widened. ("I can't use this card....not yet at least.") "End turn."

Giovan drew his two and snickered as he slapped down a new monster. "I sacrifice my three face-down creatures to summon my almighty Torture Machine-Gauntlet (3000/3000) in attack mode." The three face-down cards exploded and in their place was a giant machine that bristled with all kinds of torture tools. "Ready to meet your end? Gauntlet attack his middle Kuriboh!" The steel machine shot out a spray of sharp chains that ripped the little furball apart in a spray of blood.

Yami refused to close his eyes to this. He wouldn't let himself look away from the death of his creatures this time. They were sacrificing themselves so that he could win this duel.

"Torture King Reborn, go and have some fun with his creature!" The steel king cackled and leaped forward, driving its razor sharp claws through the Kuriboh's body. The little fiend squeaked once and then died.

"Wolf Demon King! End this now!" The demon unleashed its flame and consumed the remaining Kuriboh. "End turn."

Yami, despite his will to not cry, felt tears in his eyes once more. To think that someone could enjoy doing something like this... ("No...I mustn't let this get to me.") He drew and looked down at his card.... ("No...this can't be...") This card would work perfectly with his other card, but they required his Dark Magician to be on the field to work. He looked at his life point score and turned to face Giovan. "I cannot play any of the cards in my hand. You win Garlin."

Giovan drew his two and pointed at Yami. "You're not getting off that easily pharaoh! Torture King Reborn, attack him directly and win me those God Cards! Kill HIM!!" The demon charged across the field, all too willing to comply with its master's demands.

_To be continued..._

Next Chapter: A Father's love

Author's Notes: And that is part 2 of the final battle of the Shadow Tournament arc. So please let me know how I am doing, and I'll get to work on the next part right away.


	49. A Father's Love

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 49: A Father's Love

Rikuo felt the pain...

The memories burned horribly as they played over and over in his head...

Because of him his father had died...

He knew that Daniel was trying to communicate with him, but he wanted to be left alone. He had cried so much that there no more tears left in him. He was tired of it all...

_("Rikuo...you need to snap out of it. Yugi needs our help.")_

("Father...I lost you...It was my fault...")

_("ARGH! I'm sorry you lost your father and all but for the love of all that which is holy would you please at least let me take control!?")_

("..........")

**_("Perhaps I can help?")_** A soothing female voice whispered from within the mind of the wolf demon. He barely registered her existence though.

_("GAH! Who the heck are you!?")_

_**("Daniel, may I please speak with Rikuo alone please?")**_

_("Errr......I'd love to comply, but how exactly do I...leave?")_

There was a sound like a steel wall coming up and the female voice brought its attention to the demon. **_("Rikky, do you know who this is?")_**

Rikuo's eyes widened. ("How do you know my nickname? The only person who ever dared to refer to me like that was my moth...") His brain went numb as he put two and two together.

_**("Yes it is me Rikuo.")**_

("LIAR! My mother died long ago...")

**_("And you yourself died long ago too. Is it so unreasonable that I could be your mother's spirit?")_** Though the words should have been sarcastic, the voice somehow made them soothing to him.

("Mommy....") Rikuo felt tears fill his eyes again. ("It's my fault he died...I shouldn't have gotten in the way.")

_**("And is letting Sestros get away with it the way to accomplish anything?")**_

("What?")

**_("Have you forgotten where you are? You're battling to make sure that Sestros can never do this again. Perhaps it might be best to avenge your father while you still have the chance?")_** The presence and the voice it had disappeared.

Daniel's voice echoed out, _("HOW DO YOU PEOPLE GET INTO MY HEAD!?")_

("Shut up idiot. We have a duel to win.") Rikuo had new resolve now. He was going to win this duel and send Sestros to the hell he belongs in.

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_Giovan drew his two and pointed at Yami. "You're not getting off that easily pharaoh! Torture King Reborn, attack him directly and win me those God Cards! Kill HIM!!" The demon charged across the field, all too willing to comply with its master's demands._

Yami braced himself for the end. ("I'm sorry I failed Yugi.") He waited for the killing blow to come, but it never arrived. There was a clang and a roar of frustration. His eyes opened to see that a blue barrier had sprung up between him and the Torture King Reborn. ("What?")

"Sestros..." A gruff voice said to his right. "I cannot forgive you for this insult you have done to my family. I will kill you and burn the ashes. For my father...for my mother...for turning my life from one of a prince to one of your private killing machine...for all of it....YOU MUST DIE!"

Rikuo was done with the mind games and the pain of memories...those times could come later. ("Now it's time to kill this asshole.") "And to accomplish that I have activated my face-down trap card, Mirror Force! It negates your attack and reflects it back at your field, destroying all of your attack mode monsters in one fell swoop!"

The barrier shimmered and then peppered the dark-suited demon's field with energy, blowing his three monsters into oblivion.

Giovan growled in anger. ("How dare that insolent dog think himself above my power!!! I'll kill him for that!") "You think that this card in my hand cannot save me? Think again!" He slammed the card into his duel disk. "Go Mass Restoration! This immediately ends my turn, but also revives all monsters that I have lost!" His field was wreathed in darkness and when it cleared his three monsters had returned.

Yami smiled to his returned partner. "Let's take the Torture King down a notch." He drew and nodded to Rikuo. "Give me one turn and we will be able to take him down." His attention came back to his opponent. "I set my three cards face-down on the field and end my turn."

Rikuo smirked at Giovan. "Since I have been out for three turns or so, I'll just draw my three cards now." He drew three cards off the top of his deck and his newest plan immediately became evident to him. "I set one monster in defense mode and the rest of my hand face-down." Now he had a full field of magic and trap cards, a monster in defense, and his Wolf Demon Lord on the field. "End turn."

Giovan drew his two and slid them both into his duel disk. ("My best bet would be to attack Yami while his defenses are gone. Those three cards must not be traps or he would have played them earlier.") "Wolf Demon King! Attack Yami's life points directly!" The demonic wolf charged up a ball of phantom flame and spat it at the Pharaoh.

Rikuo flipped his center face-down card. "Negate Attack will defend my partner for a turn from all of your attacks." A whirling vortex absorbed the blast and left Yami untouched.

Giovan growled. "Take your turn you human bastard, and know that next turn I will kill you."

Yami drew and shook his head at his opponent. "Don't jump to conclusions just yet Garlin. I still have plenty of moves left to deal with you. For example, I activate the card I just drew. It's called Magical Silk Hats. I'm sure you remember how it works, right?"

A black top hat appeared on Rikuo's field, landed on top of his Wolf Demon Lord and then split into four hats. "Now I will conceal the rest of my face-down cards underneath the same hat as Rikuo's Wolf Demon Lord. End turn."

Rikuo glanced curiously over at Yami. ("What could he have planned?")

_("We're better off trusting him then doubting him.")_

Rikuo drew. "I transfer all of the Magical Silk Hats to my partner's field." The four top hats floated over to in front of Yami. "Now I sacrifice my face-down monster to set a new creature in its place." He was about to end his turn, but something about the look Yami was giving him was sparking off a thought in the back of his head.

("He needs me to do something...what though?") Then he figured out what those three face-down cards with his Wolf Demon Lord must be. ("Clever Pharaoh...very clever...") "I'm not done yet though! Next I activate Monster Reborn on the Dark Magician!"

The corpse of the purple-robed spellcaster came back to its feet, fully healed from its previous wound. "Now I will conceal him within one of the Magical Silk Hats!" The Magician vanished off the field. "Now my turn is complete."

Giovan drew his two and glanced at his dwindling deck. He had expected the duel to be over by now. ("That doesn't mean that I am out of options yet though.") "Alright mutt, let's see how your little Magical Hat defense holds against the magic card Token Thanksgiving. This will take all token monsters off the field and increase my life points by 800 per token." Three of the four hats exploded into pieces of silk.

Rikuo- 8000

Yami- 3100

Giovan- 15600

Giovan smirked at the last remaining hat. "Torture Machine-Gauntlet attack the hat and wipe out the monsters inside it!" The machine spat out a storm of metal chains that engulfed the Pharaoh's field and his single defense hat. "Ha, good-bye!" The storm of chains around the hat stopped.

Yami smiled at Garlin. "You should have thought about how wise it would be to attack that has three face-down cards in it and two monsters. Because how can I fit one monster into a single hat?"

Rikuo caught on immediately. "Get ready to take quite a lot of damage Sestros."

Yami nodded. "Right. You see there aren't two monsters under that hat. There's only one." The chains from the Torture Machine-Gauntlet began to shudder. "And you just made it mad." Light began to pulse from out of the openings in the tomb of chains. Then in one thunderous explosion the chains were destroyed to reveal the new monster. It looked like the Dark Magician, but it had red marks along its face and its robes had become red and black. "Say hello to our all powerful fusion, the Dark Magician Lord." (3500/2500)

Giovan growled. "So one of the card's you had under that hat was Polymerization?"

Yami nodded. "That's not all I had under there though. You see I also had hidden a trap and another magic card under it. The magic card was Book of Secret Arts, raising our monster's attack points by 300." (3800/2800)

Rikuo wasn't sure how, but he knew what the other card was. "The other card was the trap card Duelist's Determination. That allows the owner of the monster to transfer half of his life points to the attack of his monster. And while the trap may be Yami's, we'll be using my life points to power it." (7800/2800)

Rikuo- 4000

In unison the two lifted their hands and pointed at the Torture Machine. "NOW.....HOWLING MAGIC BLAST!!" The Dark Magician Lord raised his staff/sword and a wave of phantom energy consumed the Machine instantly, blowing it to pieces that rained down on Giovan's field.

Rikuo- 4000

Yami- 3100

Giovan- 10800

Giovan clenched his fists and slapped his two cards into his duel disk. "I set these two cards face-down. Now go and take your turn!"

Yami drew and nodded to Rikuo. "You're up. Show him what you have."

Rikuo sneered as he drew. "Ready to lose the rest of your life points Sestros?"

Giovan snorted. "Talking trash lost you your last duel."

Rikuo pondered that for a second. "Wow....you are right. I had better just finish you off quickly then." He flipped up his face-down monster. "So first let's make sure you can't interfere with us by using your trap cards! Reveal Jinzo!" (2400/1500) The metal monster appeared on the field and chuckled coldly.

Giovan's eyes went wide as all of his face-down traps were now useless to him. "No....This cannot be!"

Rikuo flipped up one of his face-down cards. "Let's make sure those cards never darken out door-step again. Go Psycho Shockwave!" Jinzo's eye lenses flashed bright red and then a beam of light shot across the field and slashed all four of Giovan's trap cards in half. "This overloads Jinzo's special ability and he destroys all of your trap cards on the field."

Rikuo flipped up another one of his face-down cards. "Now I activate the magic card Premature Burial to raise Wolf Demon Lord up from the graveyard at the cost of 800 life points!" The ground beneath him shook and the armored form of his monster reappeared on the field.

Rikuo- 3200

Yami- 3100

Giovan- 10800

"Next up is the magic card Replay! At the cost of half of my life points I may activate any magic card from my graveyard! So let's see you stop my fusion this time Sestros! Go Polymerization!" The magic card triggered and pulled the two monsters into each other. There was an explosion of light, and when it cleared the Steel Wolf General (3400/2000) stood where they had connected with each other.

Rikuo- 1600

Yami- 3100

Giovan- 108000

Giovan felt his control of this duel slipping away, and he did not like it all....

Rikuo sneered and flipped up his next card. "Now I activate the magic card Limiter Removal, doubling my Steel Wolf General's attack power!" (6800/2000)

Yami grinned at Rikuo. "Go and get your revenge."

The wolf demon's eyes could almost be said to be aflame now. "Oh I intend to! It's time to get that insult to my family off of your field! Steel Wolf General, attack the Wolf Demon King now!!" The metal demon lunged across the field and split the huge wolf down the middle, the halves of it crashing on both sides of Giovan.

Rikuo- 1600

Yami- 3100

Giovan- 7000

Rikuo watched as Sestros got more and more angry. ("That's right...blow your top and leave us with the necessary head-room to win.") "End turn." The Steel Wolf General exploded and in its place was the Wolf Demon Lord.

Giovan drew his two and he sneered. "Say goodbye to your monsters. And say good-bye to living in general Mutt." He slid his two cards into his duel disk. "Go Last Day of Witch and Exile of the Wicked. This will destroy all Demon and Spellcaster monsters on the field. That means you are finished!"

Yami and Rikuo both gasped as their respective monsters were completely destroyed. Not even enough was left of them for a corpse.

Giovan snickered and pointed at Rikuo. "Now you may regret lowering your life points by so much, Mutt. Torture Kind Reborn attack his life points and bring me back his soul!" The monster flew across the field, claws ready to gouge the wolf demon apart.

Yami stared in horror as the beast leapt down on his defenseless partner.

Rikuo just slid the card he was holding into his duel disk. "I discard Kuriboh, thereby negating all of the damage of your attack against me." The little brown furball appeared and instead of Rikuo, it was ripped in half. It didn't matter to him though. Unlike Yami he could care less what happened to most of his cards. "Your attack failed Sestros."

Giovan trembled in rage, his black aura of energy flaring bright and brighter. "You cannot dodge me forever! So take your turn Pharaoh and get ready for death!"

Yami drew and he already knew what he was going to do. "I play Premature Burial to revive the....." He felt a pull on his soul and suddenly he couldn't move. Through unblinking eyes he could see that Rikuo and Giovan had stopped moving as well. ("What's...going...on?") Even his thoughts felt sluggish.

_**("Reconsider your action, I beg of you.")**_

("W..hat....?")

_**("Please reconsider....")**_

Suddenly everything was moving normally, with Yami not skipping a beat in his words. "....Wolf Demon Lord from my graveyard!" There was a flash of light and the samurai demon appeared on his field.

Giovan's eyes widened in surprise. "What the hell are you doing? You understand that my monster possesses far much more attack power than yours, right?"

Yami didn't seem disturbed at all by this fact. "I set my final card face-down and transfer control of the Wolf Demon Lord to Rikuo. End turn."

Rikuo stared at his partner like the other spirit had lost his mind. "What are you doing!? Why didn't you revive something stronger!?"

Yami smiled knowingly. "Because she asked me to let you end this right now. Which reminds me," He flipped up his face-down card. "Jar of Greed normally allows me to draw one card, but since I can I give the draw to you Rikuo. Now finish this madness so we can all go home."

Rikuo wasn't sure what Yami was talking about, but he was ready. ("So be it. This is the draw that determines whether I succeed or fail in my revenge.") He drew his first card and felt despair grip his heart tightly. ("Alone this card is useless to us.")

Daniel's voice reminded him. _("We still get one more card because of the Jar of Greed.")_

("That's right, we do...") As his hand grasped their next card, he felt the tingling in his head of a memory...

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_Entirius smiled to his almost asleep son. "Remember that you will always be the ray of sunshine that brought me back from the edge of insanity. No matter what ever happens remember that I will always love you and that you mustn't let anyone make you believe otherwise." He brushed a lock of his pup's raven black hair back._

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....and just like that he knew he would win. And he knew that his father's spirit was with him in this. He drew and as he looked upon the card, he bowed his head. "Thank you father, for trusting me with your weapon."

Giovan frowned. "What are you babbling about Mutt? Your father is long dead."

Rikuo eyes glimmered with something that he had never felt since he was a child, so long ago....peace. "I play the legendary weapon card Howling Sword." A golden light engulfed his field and the Wolf Demon Lord looked completely invigorated. "This magic card raises my monsters attack points by 1000 and then doubles it." Rikuo's voice still rang with calm. (6800/1000)

Giovan snickered. "That won't be enough..."

Rikuo slid the other card into his duel disk. "Now I play Lord's Ascension to transform the Wolf Demon Lord into something you will never be....a true king."

Giovan would have gone on a rant about how Rikuo dare oppose him, but.....

The Wolf Demon Lord was swallowed up in a torrent of golden light. "Sestros, my father is here to claim his revenge upon you." His voice began to rise in volume as a form could be seen within the pillar. "Now face him.....and see your defeat!"

The light faded and a magnificent humanoid with lines of red down his face and bare arms hefted the Howling Sword over his shoulder. He looked down upon Giovan with a look that promised it was over. "This is your end Sestros.....allow me to introduce the Wolf Demon Avatar (5500/3000) in attack mode! And because of the special effect of legendary weapon cards they follow their user no matter what transformations it undergoes, so therefore it is still equipped to my creature." (13000/3000)

Giovan stumbled back, eyes wide in true terror. "This cannot be!! I am the king!!! You cannot oppose me! I am god!"

Rikuo tiredly pointed at the Torture Kind Reborn and in a voice that carried with it the pain of millennia of sadness said, "Do my family a favor and just die already..." His voice rose in pitch as the Wolf Demon Avatar charged up a flaming brand of energy along its blade. "Wolf Demon Avatar, attack with Howling Sword Nova!!!" The golden wolf demon brought its weapon down and slashed the Torture King Reborn in half. It didn't stop there though, for it leapt forward and drove the weapon right into Giovan's chest.

Rikuo- 1600

Yami- 3100

Giovan- 0

Through now dying eyes Giovan stared at the blade protruding from his chest. He still couldn't believe the impossibility of it all. How could he have lost?

The Wolf Demon Avatar leaned up to his ear and whispered, "Because you delight in the torment of others. Because you are evil. But most of all......because you piss me off." And then in one last explosion of gold light Kilomet Sestros was gone, his soul banished from this realm for the rest of eternity.

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Rikuo looked at the spot where Sestros had been moments ago, tears flowing down his face once more. Right before he returned to his soul room to rest he thought, ("Finally I can sleep peacefully at night.")

_To be continued..._

Next chapter: Aftermath

Author's notes: And that is the end of the bad guy! Review with your opinions on the big climatic finish to season two!

Oh, and I'm open to any ideas about season three and what it should involve. I've left some lifelines along the way to help in case you want to look at them. Just think back to any parts where I had something mentioned but never followed up on it.


	50. Aftermath

By the way: To all of my faithful readers of this story who don't understand what happened to the other chapters after this one, please look at my author name and you will see that I have separated my

Disclaimer: If by now you haven't figured out that I do not own Yugioh, then you need to check your memory, cause it sucks at the moment.

Chapter 50: Aftermath

Daniel sighed as he sat back in the helicopter, looking out at the dwindling form of The Asylum. ("Finally it's over.") He glanced at the sword lying in his lap and chuckled. The thing looked almost harmless when sheathed. Of course when drawn and wreathed in phantom flame, all it took was one swing of it to convince the Emissaries holding his friends hostage to turn tail and run. ("Plus it helped to let them know that if I was here then their boss was dead.")

He swept his gaze across the people in the helicopter with him. Nearly everyone was asleep or still unconscious, in Kaiba's case. In fact the only person still awake was..."Penny for your thoughts Yugi?"

The diminutive duelist looked over at him and smiled. "Nothing really. It's just that Yami and I were curious what Rikuo was going to do with the Howling Sword. It is a powerful weapon and just as powerful of a card too. It might rival the Egyptian God Cards."

Daniel looked at the sheathed weapon and frowned. "I don't think we need to worry about the big bad wolf demon turning evil. He's a really good guy at heart, if a bit of a jerk sometimes."

Yugi nodded and looked out at the ocean beneath them. "And what about you and me? Who should we say won the tournament?"

Daniel rolled his eyes and yawned. "You go and be the champion. I'll be content being the guy that knows the champion."

Yugi laughed. "I guess so." He looked over at still out-cold Kaiba. "What about him and your duel?"

Daniel snickered. "I'll get to it eventually. I'm too tired to at the moment though."

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_Back at the Asylum..._

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The video screen in Giovan Garlin's office flickered and flashed through the taped recording of the duel in the burial chamber over and over again.

The man sitting in Giovan's chair tapped his shadowed fingers together as he watched the Howling Sword cut down Garlin once more. ("Interesting indeed.") He smirked and lay back in the chair. ("I suppose that makes Rikuo Amero and Daniel Pilkington the winners of the tournament. The rest of the board will want to hear about this.") He popped the tape out of the desk player and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. ("But first I need to pay the boy a visit.") He looked over at his jet black duel disk and snickered. ("I hope he doesn't think the Shadow Corporation is done with him.")

In front of him the video screen showed an overlay picture of both Rikuo and Daniel. ("This isn't over yet. Not by a longshot.")

_End of Season 2_

Check my Author name to find Season three and four, which are on different stories.


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